TREASURY

Cancer/Heart Disease

Evan Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the survival rates for (a) breast cancer, (b) lung cancer and (c) heart disease for each year since 1997 for (i) England and (ii) each region of England.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Evan Harris, dated 3 July 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the survival rates for (a) breast cancer, (b) lung cancer and (c) heart disease for each year since 1997 for (i) England and (ii) each region of England. (122790)
	The latest available breast and lung cancer survival rates are for cases diagnosed in England in 1993 to 1995 and followed up to the end of 2000. At a national level, figures are routinely presented for men and women separately, while those at regional level are given for persons only, and are given in the table below.
	
		Five-year relative survival (per cent.), persons diagnosed in 1993–95 and followed up to 31 December 2000: breast and lung cancer, England and Regional Office area -- Percentage
		
			  Breast(1) Lung 
		
		
			 England 
			 Men — 5.46 
			 Women 75.9 5.48 
			  
			 Northern and Yorkshire 74.0 4.4 
			 Trent 74.0 4.4 
			 West Midlands 76.9 4.8 
			 North and West 74.8 5.6 
			 Eastern 78.6 5.5 
			 London 77.1 6.1 
			 South East 76.9 5.5 
			 South and West 75.0 4.9 
		
	
	(1) Figures for breast cancer exclude the very small number of cases in men.
	Source:
	Report: Cancer survival in the health authorities of England, 1993–2000. Health Statistics Quarterly 13 (2002), 95–103. This is available on our website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme health/HSQl 3 v4.pdf. "Cancer survival: five year relative survival rates in England by Health Authority up to 2000"; at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D5389.xls for breast (female), lung, colon and prostate cancer.
	There are no figures available on a nationally comparable basis for survival from heart disease in England.

Average Wage

Michael Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the statistical reliability of the calculation of average wage levels using the (a) New Earnings survey and (b) Labour Force survey.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Michael Foster, dated 2 July 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the statistical reliability of average earnings data from the New Earnings Survey and the Labour Force Survey. (122518)
	Earnings data from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are valuable in different circumstances. The NES data are available annually and are based on a larger sample than those from the LFS. The LFS data are available quarterly and for a wider range of population sub-groups than from the NES. An article describing the background and uses of ONS average earnings data was published in the February 2003 edition of "Labour Market Trends", a copy of which can be found in the Library.
	Sampling errors have been calculated for both NES and LFS estimates and are available from the National Statistics website (www.statistics.gov.uk). Given the smaller sample size of the LFS, the sampling errors tend to be larger than the equivalent NES sampling errors.
	Following an extensive quality review of the NES last year the survey is currently undergoing a significant redevelopment to further improve the quality of the estimates. The action plan for implementing the results of this review are also on the National Statistics website (www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=280). This will reduce known biases in the existing survey which arise principally from the fact that the sample only includes employees who are on Pay As You Earn tax schemes, but also because of differential response rates by size of business and region.

Child Benefit

Huw Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review (a) the procedures for transferring entitlement to child benefit to a surviving patient on the death of the parent with care and (b) the case of Mr. Roger Grey, a constituent.

Dawn Primarolo: Where a child benefit claimant dies and their partner wants to claim child benefit instead, he or she needs to make a new claim. They have up to three months to do this and not suffer a break in their right to payment. The Inland Revenue aims to do all it can, in such cases, to ensure claims are processed as quickly as possible and to maintain continuity of payment.
	I cannot comment on the specific case you mention but I can assure you that the Inland Revenue is continuing to look at how to improve the service provided to customers in this situation.

Child Tax Credit

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision has been made by the Inland Revenue to deal with (a) changes in payments and (b) written and telephone queries in respect of child tax credit for term-time workers during the summer months.

Dawn Primarolo: A term-time worker who has responsibility for one or more children will be able to claim child tax credit, which is paid direct by the Inland Revenue. Child tax credit is not related to work status.
	Tax credit awards for 2003–04 are initially based on the family's current circumstances and their income for the 2001–02 tax year. They may be adjusted during the year for changes in income or circumstances. Final entitlement for the year will be based on circumstances during the year and the income for 2003–04, if that is lower than 2001–02 income or more than £,500 higher.

Child Trust Funds

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to make the first payments into child trust funds.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 30 June 2003
	As stated in the Budget, entitlement to the child trust fund will be backdated to include children born from September 2002. We expect child trust fund accounts to be available by 2005.

Child Trust Funds

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish further details of his proposed child trust funds.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 30 June 2003
	Full proposals for the child trust fund will be published later in the summer.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 22 May 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms J. Knowles.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied on behalf of the Chancellor on 20 June 2003. The Tax Credit Office aims to reply to 80 per cent. of complaints within 15 working days and will measure their performance and report against that aim in due course.

Departmental Staff

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff (a) have been and (b) will be transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions to the Treasury as a result of the introductions of the various tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: There have been no transfers of staff from the DWP to the Treasury (or Inland Revenue) as a direct result of the introduction of the child and working tax credits and none are planned. The Inland Revenue's Annual Report to 31 March 2000 (CM 5029) shows—at page 33—that the equivalent of around 3,700 full time staff were transferred from the Benefits Agency to the Inland Revenue when WFTC/DPTC were introduced in October 1999.
	Responsibility for administering the child and working tax credits rests with Inland Revenue. The DWP will continue to deliver a one-stop system of support for working age customers, including transacting their tax credits business.

Disabled People

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people (a) in the UK, (b) in the UK workforce and (c) of working age are classified as having a disability; and what percentage of the total this figure represents in each case.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jenkins, dated 2 July 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about people with disabilities. (122644)
	The attached table gives information from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), for the three month period ending February 2003, for disabled people of working age in total and for those in employment. Comparable information is not available for people younger or older than the working age group.
	The definition of 'disabled' includes those who have a current disability covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, or a work-limiting disability, or both.
	
		Disabled people(2) of working age(3), United Kingdom -- Not seasonally adjusted
		
			 December 2002 toFebruary 2003 Total (thousand) Disabled (thousand) Disabled as  percentage of total 
		
		
			 All of working age 37,152 7,187 19.3 
			 of which:
			 In employment 27,695 3,517 12.7 
		
	
	(2) People with a disability covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, or a work-limiting disability, or both.
	(3) Men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.
	Note:
	These LFS estimates have not been interim-adjusted to reflect the 2001 Census results.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey.

Equitable Life

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has had discussions with the office of Lord Penrose since 8 March concerning his report into Equitable Life.

Paul Boateng: Lord Penrose's Inquiry was established by and is supported by the Treasury. Therefore, Treasury officials discuss a range of issues with Lord Penrose's office on an on-going basis. However, the conduct of the Inquiry is entirely a matter for Lord Penrose.

European Economic Convergence

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the rise in the tax burden necessary to offset inflationary pressures which would otherwise result in (a) a half per cent. rise in inflation, (b) a one per cent. rise inflation, (c) a one and a half per cent. rise in inflation and (d) a two per cent. rise in inflation, assuming that a decision to implement a discretionary fiscal policy was taken, as described in the Treasury document Fiscal stabilisation and EMU, and assuming a neutral monetary policy.

Paul Boateng: In the event that a discretionary fiscal policy response was needed within EMU, its likely size would depend on a number of factors, including the nature of the economic shock, the degree of wage and price flexibility within the UK, and which fiscal instrument was being used.

Graduate Earnings

David Rendel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the proportion of those earning over £100,000 a year who are graduates.

John Healey: holding answer 26 June 2003
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Rendel, dated 3 July 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the proportion of those earning over £100,000 a year who are graduates. (121770)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of the average weekly pay of employees, most recently for the three month period ending in February 2003; estimates are not available of self-employed earnings. Based on an approximate conversion of this information to an annual pay basis, it is estimated that among employees of working age earning more than £100,000 per year, 82% were qualified to degree level or higher.

Housing Market

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the UK housing market of increased use of long-term fixed rate mortgages; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: These issues will be considered as part of the Miles Review announced in Budget 2003.

Housing Market

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions his Department has had with mortgage lenders regarding the market share of variable rate mortgages in the UK.

Paul Boateng: The Chancellor has asked David Miles, Professor of Finance at Imperial College, to undertake a review of the UK's fixed rate mortgage market to establish why the share of fixed-rate mortgages, particularly long-term fixed rates, is so low compared to the United States and many other EU countries.
	The Review process will involve consultation with key stakeholders to establish views and inform the analysis.
	Professor Miles will deliver an interim report by autumn and a comprehensive report and recommendations to the Chancellor by Budget 2004.

Income Tax

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost would be to the Exchequer if the 22 per cent. income tax rate bracket was increased to include individuals with yearly incomes of (a) £40,000, (b) £45,000, (c) £50,000, (d) £55,000 and (e) £60,000.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 26 June 2003
	The full year cost or yield of extending the basic rate limits in 2003–04 is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Full year cost of increasing the Basic Rate Limit toinclude individuals with annual gross income of: £ billion 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) 40,000 2.5 
			 (b) 45,000 4.5 
			 (c) 50,000 6.0 
			 (d) 55,000 7.2 
			 (e) 60,000 8.3 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with Budget 2003. They exclude any behavioural response to the tax change.

Income Tax

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the revenue impact would be of increasing the higher income tax rate to 50 per cent. and extending the 22 per cent. income rate bracket to include yearly earnings of up to (a) £40,000, (b) £45,000 and (c) £50,000.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 26 June 2003
	The full year yield of extending the basic rate limits and increasing the higher income tax rate to 50 per cent. in 2003–04 is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Increasing the higher income tax rate to50 per cent. and Basic Rate Limit to includeindividuals with annual gross income of: Full year yield(£ billion) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) 40,000 8.2 
			 (b) 45,000 5.2 
			 (c) 50,000 2.8 
		
	
	The estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with Budget 2003.
	They exclude any behavioural response to the tax change.

Income Tax

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of tax payers who would be required to pay a top rate of income tax set for this financial year at (a) £100,000 and above and (b) £150,000 and above of taxable income.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is given in the table.
	
		
			 Number of higher rate taxpayers in 2003–04 with taxable incomes of Numbers in thousands  
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) £100,000 and above 327 
			 (b) £150,000 and above 158 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with the Budget 2003.

Income Tax

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue that would be raised from income tax rates of (a) 1 per cent., (b) 5 per cent., (c) 9 per cent. and (d) 10 per cent. on gross incomes in excess of £1,000,000 a year.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The full year revenue yield from making these changes in 2003–04 is set out in the table.
	
		
			 Full year yield of raising the higher rate ofincome tax in 2003–04 on gross incomes inexcess of £1,000,000 £ billion 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) by 1 per cent. 0.1 
			 (b) by 5 per cent. 0.3 
			 (c) by 9 per cent. 0.6 
			 (d) by 10 per cent. 0.7 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with Budget 2003. They exclude any behavioural response to the tax change.

Labour Statistics

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees are aged (a) 16 and (b) 17.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Stewart, dated 3 July 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about the numbers of employees aged 16 and 17. (122879)
	Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), for the three month period ending February 2003, show 255,000 employees aged 16 and 379,000 employees aged 17 in the United Kingdom.

Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the appointees to the (a) Private Finance Task Force, (b) Financial Services Authority, (c) Financial Services Tribunal, (d) Board of Banking Supervision, (e) VAT and Duties Tribunal and (f) National Savings; and which of the appointees to each body are from ethnic minorities.

Dawn Primarolo: The Financial Services Tribunal and the Board of Banking Supervision were disbanded following the enactment of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) and the Private Finance Task Force no longer exists. Of the remaining three bodies the current appointees are listed below. As information about which appointees are from ethnic minorities is personal, it can be disclosed only with their individual approval, which would entail disproportionate cost.
	(b) Financial Services Authority
	Sir Howard Davies, Chairman (to be replaced by Callum McCarthy on 22 September 2003)
	Stewart Boyd, Deputy Chairman,
	Moira Black, Non-executive director
	Tom de Swann, Non-executive director
	Michael Foot, Executive director
	Kyra Hazou, Non-executive director
	Deirdre Hutton, Non-executive director
	Sir Andrew Large, Non-executive director
	Gillian Nott, Non-executive director
	Christopher Rodrigues, Non-executive director
	Dr Shamit Saggar, Non-executive director
	Carol Sergeant, Executive director
	John Tiner, Executive director
	Steve Thieke, Non-executive director
	Clive Wilkinson, Non-executive director
	(e) VAT and Duties Tribunal
	Mrs. Ann Jennifer Adams (Bureaux de Change)
	Mrs. Edith Rachel Adams FCA ATII
	John B Adrain Esq FCA
	Riaz Ahmad Esq CA
	Mrs. Mary Christine Ainsworth
	Mrs. Caroline Susan de Albuquerque
	Dr. Norma Rhoda Ball AKC, FRGS
	Mrs. Charlotte M Barbour CA ATII
	Ray K Battersby Esq
	John E Bentley Esq
	Arthur Ernest Brown Esq
	John N Brown Esq CBE FCA ATII
	Gordon Burnison Esq QBE
	Mrs. Brenda May Burrell
	John Clark Esq FTII
	Roger Edmund Cockfield Esq
	lan Condie Esq
	Bernard J Coode Esq FFA
	Richard Dudley Corke Esq FCA
	Robert Laverock Hamilton Crawford Esq
	James D. Crerar Esq
	Mrs. Marilyn Crompton
	Sunil Kumar Das Esq
	Praful D Davda Esq
	John E Davison, Esq
	Mrs. Carol Jean Debell
	Mrs. Rayna Dean FCA
	Jon P M Denny Esq
	Ms Anne Diver
	Keith Stuart Dugdale Esq FCA
	Ms Helen M Dunn
	Mrs. Sheila Edmondson FCA
	Mohammed Farooq Esq
	Mrs. C Farquharson (Bureau de Change)
	Ms Helen Folorunso
	Mr. John Freeston FRIGS
	W. Ruthven Gemmell (Bureaux de Change)
	Miss Heather Gibson
	Cranstoun Bygott Harold Gill Esq
	Kenneth Sidney Goddard Esq MBE
	Miss Patricia Gordon
	Robert Geoffrey Grice Esq
	Frank Hazledine Esq
	Anthony Francis Hennessey Esq
	Mohammed Modashar Hossain Esq FCA FCIB
	Ms Claire Elizabeth Howell
	Michael James Esq
	Roy Leonard Jennings Esq FCA FTII
	Mrs. Roberta Scott Johnson
	Mrs. Penny Jonas
	Mrs. Heather Kelly
	John David Kippest Esq
	Mrs. Marjorie P Kostick FCA ATII
	John Michael Lapthorne Esq
	Miss Karen Bruce Lockhart
	Maurice McCloy Esq
	Mrs. Elizabeth Mavis MacLeod CIPM
	Alex McLoughlin Esq
	Mrs. Rosalind Jean Mackworth CBE
	Kenneth Charles Manterfield Esq FCA
	Tymothy R. Marsh
	George Miles Esq
	Mrs. Joanna M Neill ACA (Bureaux de Change)
	Miss Sandra Christine O'Neill (Bureaux de Change)
	Norman Henry Phillips Esq
	Mrs. Heidi Poon
	Mrs. Gilian Pratt
	Roland Presho Esq FCMA
	Kenneth W Pritchard Esq OBE
	Scott Alexander Rae Esq
	Miss Kathleen Ramm FCA
	Anthony John Ring Esq FCA FTII ATT
	Ms Carole A Roberts
	Mrs. Nancy Joan Roberts
	Albert Leonard Robinson Esq FHCIMA, FCFA
	John Gerald Robinson Esq
	Ms Rosalind Rudd
	Mrs. Shahwar Sadeque MBCS
	Mrs. Lynneth Mary Salisbury
	Peter John Seward Esq
	Michael Alan Sharp Esq FCA FHCIMA, FBHA
	Cyril Raymond Shaw Esq FCA
	Michael Maurice Silbert Esq FRICS
	Mrs. Janet M Smith
	Ramniklal Pranial Sodagar, Esq FCA, ATII
	Professor R G Spector MD PhD FRCP, FRCPath
	James Thomas Brian Strangward Esq
	Ranbir Singh Suri Esq JP
	Neil Francis Townsend Esq
	Maurice William Trace Esq
	Anthony Wreford Bothwell Voge Esq
	Mrs. Ruth Alison Watts Davies AHICMA
	Ian Ronald Welch Esq
	David Wenn Esq FRIGS
	Mrs. Angela West FCA
	Peter Whitehead Esq
	Mrs. Joan Whiteside QBE
	The hon. Mrs. Angela Widdows
	Leon Guy Wilkinson Esq FCIB
	Miss Diana M. Wilson
	Miss Sheila Wong Chong FRICS (f) National Savings and Investments
	Alan Cook, Chief Executive
	Judy Lowe, Non-Executive Director
	James Turner, Non-Executive Director
	Richard Wright, Non-Executive Director
	Maria Stafford, Non-Executive Director

Savings

Mark Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to alter the tax treatment of tax exempt saving products.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep the tax regime under constant review to ensure that it continues to deliver its key objectives. The Government have recently consulted on radical proposals to simplify the taxation of pension savings. We are now considering responses to the consultation from around 380 organisations and individuals. There are no other current plans to alter the tax treatment of tax exempt savings products.

Sixth VAT Directive

Wayne David: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will support a revision of the Sixth VAT Directive which will allow a lower flat rate of VAT for construction work;
	(2)  what plans he has to put forward proposals for changes to the Sixth VAT Directive.

John Healey: The Government will carefully consider representations for a reduced rate on all building work in the context of the upcoming European Commission review of the reduced rates provisions. The Government intend to take a full and active part in this review as with all other discussions on changes to EC VAT Law.

Small Business (Tax Collection)

Archie Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the Inland Revenue policy on collection of receivables in arrears from small businesses upon implementation of the Enterprise Act 2002.

Dawn Primarolo: Inland Revenue policy will not change upon implementation of the Enterprise Act 2002. The Inland Revenue will continue to support viable businesses, which experience financial difficulties, with the aim of encouraging enterprise and promoting a 'rescue culture'.
	For a small business that goes into administration the Inland Revenue must act in accordance with insolvency law and will seek to recover no more and no less than it is legally entitled to, just as it would with any business.

Stamp Duty

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers he has to alter the rate of stamp duty without parliamentary approval.

Dawn Primarolo: None.

Tax Codes

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department takes to ensure that tax codes for those (a) 65 and over and (b) 75 and over are altered in the year in which taxpayers reach (i) 65 and (ii) 75 years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: For taxpayers reaching pension age who do not complete a tax return, the Inland Revenue will either have their date of birth in their records or find out from the Department of Work and Pensions that they are about to become entitled to their state pension. In these cases, they send the new pensioner a short form to obtain details of their income so that they can give them the full range of allowances to which they are entitled.
	Once the Revenue has received details of the person's date of birth, they will use this information to give the higher allowance once the person reaches 75.
	If for any reason the individual does not get the allowances they are entitled to, they should get in contact with their Revenue office.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 536W, on tax credits, how many tax credit claimants are being paid by girocheque.

Dawn Primarolo: Inland Revenue makes arrangements to pay tax credits via giro cheque when suitable banking facilities are not available. When such facilities become available, and if direct payments are still due to be made, the arrangements are changed to make the payments direct into the recipients' accounts. Such changes are being made continually, and it is not possible to establish for which recipients we are currently expecting to pay their next payment via girocheque, except at disproportionate cost.

Tax Credits

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has (a) received from and (b) made to the Scottish Executive concerning recent problems with tax credit payments, broken down by (i) subject, (ii) date and (iii) responsible Scottish minister.

Paul Boateng: None. Payments by the Scottish Executive are a devolved responsibility of the Executive.

Tax Credits

Peter Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual appeals against working tax credit assessments are outstanding.

Dawn Primarolo: Award notices cover child tax credit and working tax credit together, if appropriate. At the end of May 2003, when about 3.7 million claims were already in payment, about 4,600 written appeals against tax credit decisions had been received but not yet settled. These cover disagreements about award notices that have been reported in writing, but exclude those that are effectively reporting changes in circumstances. They include both specific disagreements about elements of the award and more general observations on the level of award or the calculation method.

Tax Credits

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people who will (a) gain and (b) lose financially on the basis of their total income in the 2003–04 financial year as a result of the introduction of child tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to Chart 5.1 in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (Budget 2003). It illustrates that a small number of families with children in the top 10 per cent. of the income scale will receive a smaller award of child tax credit than of the tax credits it has replaced. However, it also shows that even these families are on average around £5 a week better off due to the extra support this Government have given to families with children since 1997.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 542W, on tax credits, how many (a) tax credit application forms have been sent out and (b) completed application forms have been received, in each month since February.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 June 2003
	The cumulative monthly figures to the end of May 2003 are as follows.
	
		Child tax credit and working tax credit: claim forms issued and claims received— cumulative monthly figures -- Thousands
		
			 Month(4) (a) Claim forms issued (b) Claims received(5) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 February 2003 5,500 3,200 
			 March 2003 6,500 3,900(6) 
			 April 2003 7,000 4,000(7) 
			 May 2003 7,200 4,250(8) 
		
	
	(4) Final Friday in month.
	(5) Including received on-line.
	(6) At 9 April 2003
	(7) At 28 April 2003
	(8) At 3 June 2003. Excludes claims assessed as being duplicates.

Tax Credits

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to (a) the tax credits figures in the third row of Table C8 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500, (b) the tax credits figures in the thirty-third row of Table C8 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500, (c) the social security benefits figures in the fifth row of Table C11 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500 and (d) the tax credits figures in the sixth row of Table C11 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500, if he will list the types of tax credit, benefits payment and other components which comprise the quoted figures; for each type of tax credit, benefit payment and other component, whether, according to the accounting methods employed in the 2003 Budget, they are classified as negative tax revenues, Government spending or a combination of the two; and for each tax credit, benefit payment and other component, what amount of tax was refunded and Government spending was incurred in each year since 2001–02 to the latest year for which figures are projected.

Dawn Primarolo: The treatment of personal tax credits in Budget reports was explained in Box C2 on page 216 of Budget 2002 (HC592). The Government have adopted best international practice as set out in OECD guidelines for the purposes of calculating net taxes and social security contributions as included in Table C8 of Budget 2003. However there are some differences between the OECD guidelines and National Accounts basis used for calculation of other fiscal aggregates.
	(a) Row 3 of Table C8 (tax credits scoring as negative tax under OECD guidelines) includes:
	Children's Tax Credit;
	Working Families' Tax Credit (WFTC)—part;
	Disabled Person's Tax Credit (DPTC)—part;
	Child Tax Credit—part;
	Working tax credit—part;
	Life assurance premium relief at source (LAPRAS)—part; and
	Enhanced company tax credits for research and development and contaminated land clearance that reduce corporation tax liability.
	(b) Row 33 of Table C8 (OECD negative tax but public expenditure in national accounts) includes parts of WFTC, DPTC and LAPRAS, and all reduced liability corporation tax credits for research and development and contaminated land clearance.
	(c) Row 5 of Table C11 (Social Security benefit expenditure) includes II social security benefits except child allowances in Income Support and Jobseekers' Allowance, and all child benefit and war pensions.
	(d) Row 6 of Table C11 includes:
	Parts of Child Tax Credit, Working tax credit, WFTC, DPTC and Child allowances in Income Support and Jobseekers' Allowance, (paid as part of the Child Tax Credit from 2003–04 and included here to give consistent figures over the period of table);
	LAPRAS;
	Charities transitional relief; and
	Tax relief on contributions to personal and stakeholder pensions made by non-taxpayers.
	The following table shows the available figures on tax credits. More detailed information on outturn for individual tax credits available on www.inlandrevenue. gov.uk/stats. Details of social security benefit expenditure are available on www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure. htm.
	
		£ billion
		
			 Category 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) C8 row 3, negative tax (OECD) -2.3 -3.4 -4.5 
			 Of which:
			 Personal tax credits(9) -2.2 -3.1 -3.9 
			 Corporation tax credits -0.1 -0.2 -0.5 
			 Other -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 
			 
			 (b) C8 row 33, negative tax (OECD)but spending in National Accounts 0.9 1.1 0.6 
			 Of which:
			 Personal tax credits(9) 0.7 0.8 0.0 
			 Corporation tax credits 0.1 0.2 0.5 
			 Other 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 
			 (d) C11 line 6, public expenditure 8.7 9.8 11.7 
			 Of which:
			 Personal tax credits1 4.8 5.6 8.0 
			 IS / JSA child allowances 3.6 4.0 3.5 
			 Other 0.2 0.2 0.2 
		
	
	(9) Includes the relevant elements of WPTC, DPTC, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit and Children's Tax Credit.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who were receiving working families tax credit in March 2003 (a) received payments of child tax credit by the end of April 2003 and (b) had not received their child tax credit by the end of April 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 3 July 2003
	Not all recipients of working families tax credit (WFTC) in March 2003 qualify for a child tax credit (CTC) award. Their circumstances or incomes may have changed since the beginning of their WFTC awards.
	Of former WFTC recipients who by 31 March had submitted claims for CTC, were eligible for CTC, and for whom no further information was required to process the claim, the vast majority were in award by the end of April 2003.
	It is not yet known how many recipients of WFTC at March 2003 have made later claims for CTC, or made claims which have required further information to process.

Tax Credits

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how applications for tax credits received after the 5 July deadline will be treated; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: This year, the Inland Revenue will treat tax credits claims received before midnight on the first full working day after the deadline as qualifying for full backdating. This is to make sure that claims received by different routes are treated alike and recognises that the deadline falls at the weekend. So claims the Inland Revenue receive by midnight on Monday 7 July will be backdated to 6 April 2003, where appropriate.
	People can, of course, still claim tax credits for 2003–04 after that date. Claims received after 7 July can still be backdated for up to three months. (People should therefore make their claims as soon as possible.)

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effects of administering the new tax credits on the processing by the Inland Revenue of income tax returns, with particular reference to the Inland Revenue at Bootle.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The rate at which the Inland Revenue processes income tax returns varies throughout the year and from year to year. New tax credits work has had no material effect on the processing of income tax returns this year.

Tax Rates

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional revenue would be generated if the top rate of tax were (a) 45 per cent., (b) 50 per cent. and (c) 60 per cent. for those with incomes over £100,000.

Dawn Primarolo: The full year yield of introducing an additional higher rate of tax in 2003–04 is given in table.
	
		
			 Income tax yield in 2003–04 £ billion 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) 45 per cent. on gross incomes over £100,000 2.7 
			 (b) 50 per cent. on gross incomes over £100,000 5.0 
			 (c) 60 per cent. on gross incomes over £100,000 9.5 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with Budget 2003. They exclude any behavioural response to the tax change.

Tax Rates

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional revenue would be generated if the top rate of tax were (a) 45 per cent., (b) 50 per cent. and (c) 60 per cent. for those with incomes over £100,000 and the threshold for paying higher rates were raised to (i) £35,000 and (ii) £40,000.

Dawn Primarolo: The full year revenue yield or loss from making these changes in 2003–04 is set out in the table.
	
		
			 The full year yield or loss (±) of increasingthe basic rate limit and introducing an New basic rate limit(£ billion) 
			 additional higher rate of tax in 2003–04 (i) £35,000 (ii) £40,000 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) 45 per cent. on gross incomes over £100,000 0.3 -1.7 
			 (b) 50 per cent. on gross incomes over £100,000 2.6 0.6 
			 (c) 60 per cent. on gross incomes over £100,000 7.2 5.2 
		
	
	These estimates are based upon the 2000–01 Survey of Personal Incomes and are consistent with Budget 2003. They exclude any behavioural response to the tax change.

Tax Rises

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the tax rises he has introduced since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: All changes to taxation since 1997 are set out in the relevant Financial Statement and Budget Reports, which are available in the Library of the House.

Taxes (Accruals Adjustments)

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will list the accruals adjustment on taxes for each year since 1996–97 or the earliest year for which data are available, whichever is the later, with reference to the accruals adjustments on taxes figures in Table C8 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500;
	(2)  if he will list the reasons for the projected rise in accruals adjustments on taxes between 2002–03 and 2003–04, with reference to the accruals adjustments on taxes figures in Table C8 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  with reference to the accruals adjustments on taxes figures in Table C8 of the 2003 Budget, HC 500, if he will list for each tax for which the accrued receipts (a) differed from the cash receipts in 2001–02, (b) are estimated to have differed from the cash receipts in 2002–03 and (c) or are projected to differ from the cash receipts in 2003–04, the difference between the cash receipts and the accrued receipts for (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04.

Paul Boateng: The following table summarises the accruals adjustments on taxes and national insurance contributions from 1996–97, consistent with the figures given in Table C8 of Budget 2003 (HC 500).
	
		Accruals adjustments on taxes and national insurance contributions -- £ billion
		
			 Year Customs and Excise Income Tax Social security contributions Other taxes Total 
		
		
			 1996–97 -0.1 0.6 0.3 0.5 1.3 
			 1997–98 -0.4 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.9 
			 1998–99 0.1 0.6 0.0 0.6 1.3 
			 1999–2000 2.8 1.1 0.8 -0.1 4.7 
			 2000–01 0.6 0.9 1.7 0.5 3.6 
			 2001–02 0.9 -0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.6 
			 2002–03 0.3 0.2 -0.7 -0.1 -0.3 
			 2003–04 0.6 1.3 1.8 -0.1 3.6 
		
	
	These accruals adjustments are defined as the difference between taxes accruing for the year and actual cash receipts in that year. They can vary considerably from year to year and from tax to tax reflecting changes to the timing of cash payments, changes to the tax system, behavioural changes by taxpayers and the rate of growth of the tax base. A combination of these factors explains the increase between 2002–03 and 2003–04. As explained in paragraph C85 of Budget 2003, this is partly because of the effect of the national insurance contributions measures announced in Budget 2002.

Tied Financial Advisers

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) tied financial advisers operate in the United Kingdom and (b) tied financial advisers had confirmed that they have obtained professional indemnity insurance cover by 30 May.

Paul Boateng: I am advised by the Financial Services Authority that figures are not available for the number of tied advisers in the UK.
	Tied advisers, that is to say advisers who can only advise on the products of marketing group associates of large banking or insurance firms, tend to be either appointed representatives of or employed by such firms. Typically those firms, which have substantial capital resources to meet the claims of consumers, do not have a requirement to carry professional indemnity insurance.

Widow's Bereavement Allowance

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Parliamentary Commission for Admissions' observations in Equality Under the Law, Command Paper HC122, paragraph 23, on the Inland Revenue's policy towards widowers who have sought the widow's bereavement allowance.

Dawn Primarolo: EWCA Civ 814, 18 June 2003, which can be found on the Court Service website at: www.courtservice.gov.uk

Working Tax Credit

Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to encourage the take-up of working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Lady to my answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 604W, regarding child tax credit. Since that date further publicity has included television, press, radio and on-line advertising as well as direct mail.

Working Tax Credit

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to check that information lines for related benefits listed in working tax credit award notices are operational; and what systems he has in place to correct inaccuracies.

Dawn Primarolo: Working tax credit award notices do not contain the details of information lines for related benefits attached to the new tax credits.
	However, the Inland Revenue has published a leaflet, "WT6? Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit? Other types of help you may be able to get" which explains how the tax credits can help families receive other benefits. The leaflet is available from Inland Revenue Offices and Enquiry Centres and on-line at the Inland Revenue website. The details in the leaflet are regularly reviewed.

CABINET OFFICE

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department's vote in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal (a) was sufficient and (b) was not sufficient to achieve with other member states a blocking minority.

Douglas Alexander: The Minister for the Cabinet Office has not voted in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal since May 1997. The Minister for the Cabinet Office does not attend meetings of the Council of Ministers, as the Department does not have the policy lead on any issues debated there.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department abstained in the Council of Ministers on a legislative proposal which was passed by qualified majority voting.

Douglas Alexander: The Department has not abstained in the Council of Ministers on a legislative proposal passed by qualified majority voting since May 1997. The Minister for the Cabinet Office does not attend meetings of the Council of Ministers, as the Department does not have the policy lead on any issues debated there.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department has been outvoted by qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers; and if he will list the legislation by year.

Douglas Alexander: The Department has not been outvoted by qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers since May 1997. The Minister for the Cabinet Office does not attend meetings of the Council of Ministers, as the Department does not have the policy lead on any issues debated there.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department indicated dissent from a proposal in the Council of Ministers but did not register a vote or abstention.

Douglas Alexander: The Department has not indicated dissent without registering a vote or abstention from a proposal in the Council of Ministers since May 1997. The Minister for the Cabinet Office does not attend meetings of the Council of Ministers, as the Department does not have the policy lead on any issues debated there.

TRANSPORT

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department's vote in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal (a) was sufficient and (b) was not sufficient to achieve with other member states a blocking minority.

David Jamieson: Since March 1999, (a) none, and (b) on one occasion. Information for the earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department abstained in the Council of Ministers on a legislative proposal which was passed by qualified majority voting.

David Jamieson: Since March 1999, twice. Information for the earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department has been outvoted by qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers; and if he will list the legislation by year.

David Jamieson: Since March 1999, on three occasions. These were as follows:
	In 2001:
	Common Position adopted by the Council with a view to adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the organisation of working time for mobile workers performing road transport activities. (Written procedure completed 23 March 2001, UK abstaining.)
	In 2002:
	Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the level of pollutant emissions from two and three-wheel motor vehicles and amending Directive 97/24/EC. (Fisheries Council, 11 June 2002, UK abstaining.)
	Common Position adopted by the Council with a view to adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/6/EEC on installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the Community. (Environment Council, 25 June 2002, UK voting against.)
	Information for the earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Council of Ministers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department indicated dissent from a proposal in the Council of Ministers but did not register a vote or abstention.

David Jamieson: Since March 1999, none. Information for the earlier years is only available at disproportionate cost.

Cycling

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cyclists died on the road in (a) the UK and (b) Sefton in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002.

David Jamieson: The table below shows the numbers of fatalities suffered by cyclists on the road in the UK and Sefton in 2001 and in 2002:
	
		
			 Year UK Sefton 
		
		
			 2001 140 0 
			 2002 133 1

Cycling

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of changes in the (a) rate and (b) severity of cyclist casualties in areas where cycling with helmets is legally required.

David Jamieson: The Department commissioned an independent review of the effectiveness of cycle helmets which was published in 2002. This report included an assessment of the evidence of the impact of bicycle helmet legislation on helmet wearing rates, injuries and levels of bicycling. The report concludes that bicycle helmet legislation has been associated with head injury reductions. A case study of Victoria in Australia found evidence that post legislation there was a marked decrease in casualty rates per head of population. Reductions in levels of cycling and other road safety activities were recorded which may account for some of the casualty reductions.
	Results of this review are available on the Department for Transport website.

EU Legislation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by his Department over each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 30 June 2003, Official Report, columns 64–65 W.

Freight Companies

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason traffic commissioners are referring to public inquiry those freight companies who contract their transport manager function to Trans Consult Ltd.

David Jamieson: Traffic Commissioners are independent of the Secretary of State and decisions to refer cases to public inquiry are for them.

Graffiti

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the statutory undertakers about graffiti on their street furniture or other property; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: My Department has not held any discussions with statutory undertakers about graffiti on their street furniture or other property. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Home Department (Ms Blears) on 1 July 2003, Official Report, columns 248W–49W].

Green Car Fuels

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the promotion of (a) bioethanol, (b) liquefied petroleum gas and (c) hydrogen as automotive fuels.

David Jamieson: The Government supports the development and use of transport fuels which offer proven environmental benefits. We do this primarily by means of fuel duty incentives, and, as appropriate, grants to offset the additional cost of alternatively fuelled vehicles. Many alternatively fuelled vehicles also qualify for reduced rates of Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer takes decisions on fuel duty levels and other transport tax issues on a Budget by Budget basis. In doing so, he takes account of a range of environmental, economic and social considerations, building on the principles set out in the HM Treasury publication "Tax and the environment: using economic instruments" (November 2002).
	Budget 2003 announced that a duty incentive of 20 pence per litre for bioethanol would be introduced from 1 January 2005. It also said that the Government was considering how best to give further support to bioethanol produced from ligno-cellulosic feedstocks, and would welcome views on how any such support might be structured.
	Budget 2003 also announced that the Government would consult on how best to ensure that future support for road fuel gases (including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)) continued to reflect environmental and other policy objectives. This consultation was launched on 18 June 2003, and copies of the consultation document have been placed in the House Library. In the light of this, decisions on future duty rates and other forms of support for LPG are due to be announced in the 2003 Pre-Budget Report.
	The Government has granted a duty exemption for hydrogen for the purposes of a Green Fuels Challenge pilot project, due to commence later this year. Subject to the outcome of this pilot project, the Government intends to exempt hydrogen from fuel duty for a limited period in the future to encourage further development and early take-up. The taxation of hydrogen as a road fuel raises some complex issues, however, and the Government intends to discuss these issues with stakeholders with a view to taking decisions on the fiscal framework for hydrogen in the future.

Rail Freight

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the levels of freight carried by rail since 1997; what plans he has to increase it; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The amount of freight moved by rail has grown by 24 per cent. since 1997. The Strategic Rail Authority published in May 2003 its first "Freight Progress Report", explaining the achievements to date in increasing rail's share of freight traffic and the Authority's plans for achieving the growth envisaged by the Government's 10 Year Plan for Transport. Copies of the SRA report are available in the Library of the House.

Road Haulage

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to ensure that foreign operators in the road haulage industry in the UK are abiding by the relevant rules and regulations.

David Jamieson: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) check foreign road haulage operators, using UK roads, in the same manner as they do domestic hauliers to ensure compliance with traffic and roadworthiness regulations. VOSA use intelligence data to target those operators, whether foreign or domestic, who consistently breach regulations. They also carry out occasional random checks. Those operators and drivers who are caught offending are treated to the same sanctions, whatever their country of origin.
	VOSA report all offences, committed by foreign operators and drivers, to the licensing authorities in the countries of origin of the offenders.

Trunk Roads

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 20 years on trunk roads in the East of England, broken down by (a) year and (b) county; and how many miles of trunk road have existed in the East of England in each of the last 20 years.

David Jamieson: The information cannot be provided as requested, as detailed records are not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, I am able to provide information regarding the length of trunk road in the East of England (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk). Records for the period 1983–1997 and for the year 2001 are shown in the attached table; there are no detailed recorded statistics available for 1998–2000. Statistics for 2002 have not yet been published.
	
		
			 Year Kilometres 
		
		
			 1983 1,195.3 
			 1984 1,188.5 
			 1985 1,190.0 
			 1986 1,167.9 
			 1987 1,187.7 
			 1988 1,195.4 
			 1989 1,194.6 
			 1990 1,237.9 
			 1991 1,245.0 
			 1992 1,245.3 
			 1993 1,246.2 
			 1994 1,246.2 
			 1995 1,242.3 
			 1996 (10)— 
			 1997 1,272.6 
			 1998 (10)— 
			 1999 (10)— 
			 2000 (10)— 
			 2001 1,139.0

Vehicle Excise Duty

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate how long it takes on average to (a) complete and (b) process the application form for the Vehicle Excise Duty Exemption Certificate; and whether his Department has a target for the number of applications to be processed.

David Jamieson: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Veterans Agency (VA) are responsible for issuing certificates of exemption from VED for disabled people. There are no figures available on the length of time it takes an individual to complete the application form for an exemption certificate. There are no targets for the issuing of exemption certificates by DWP while VA's target is two working days from the date of receipt of a valid application.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Baljit Kaur/Jaspal Singh

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to determine the application made by (a) Baljit Kaur (S1025374/3) and (b) Jaspal Singh (S1160262) for indefinite leave.

Beverley Hughes: Mrs. Baljit Kaur and Mr. Jaspal Singh were both granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom on 30 June 2003.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will respond to the letter of 6 May 2003 from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan, regarding Mr. R. Edgar of Peterhead, a constituent.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 17 June 2003
	I will be replying to the hon. Member shortly. I apologise for the delay.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston will respond to the letter of 25 March 2003 from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding a constituent, reference number: PO 6649/3.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The letter from the hon. Member dated 25 March 2003 was received in the Home Office on 1 April 2003 and the reply was sent to his office at the House of Commons on 25 June 2003.

Criminal Justice Bill

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation was held with members of the judiciary before amendments were tabled to the Criminal Justice Bill in relation to sentencing for murder.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office has taken care to ensure that consultation with the judiciary has been an important part of the development of the proposals in relation to sentencing for murder, although the Government's final conclusions differed from views expressed by the judiciary. Prior to the tabling of amendments this consultation included:
	A seminar with senior judicary and the Lord Chief Justice on 20 January 2003 providing an opportunity to comment on the developing proposals for sentencing in murder cases.
	An informal meeting between the Lord Chief Justice and Lord Falconer on 13 March.
	The development of the proposals for setting minimum terms for murder was also discussed during a meeting between the Lord Chief Justice and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 13 March.

Criminal Records Bureau

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  (a) how many and (b) what percentage of registered bodies did not have their registration with the Criminal Records Bureau completed within the previous three week service standard in 2002–03; and how long on average it took to process applications from organisations which took longer than three weeks;
	(2)  how many potential registered bodies are having their applications processed by the Criminal Records Bureau; and how many of these organisations have been waiting longer than three weeks.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 30 June 2003
	There are 4,742 registered bodies that did not have their registration with the Criminal Records Bureau completed within the previous three-week service standard in 2002–03, the percentage being 90.72 per cent.
	The average length of time to process applications from organisations which took longer than three weeks was 13 weeks. This includes time often required to seek further information from applicant organisations and for them to respond to such requests.
	There are 315 potential registered bodies having their applications processed by the Criminal Records Bureau and 191 have been waiting longer than three weeks.

Deportations

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Chechens have been deported in the past six months; to which destinations they were sent; what arrangements were made to ensure their safe passage through Russia to Chechnya; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of people of Chechen origin removed from the UK and on the destinations to which they were removed, is not available except by examination of individual case files which would incur disproportionate cost.
	There are no arrangements in place to ensure the safe passage to Chechnya of Chechens who are removed from the UK to the Russian Federation. Whether or not such an individual chooses to return to Chechnya following his removal to the Russian Federation is the decision of that individual.

Drug Treatment

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of people who have completed a Drug Treatment and Testing Order are no longer taking drugs (a) one month, (b) three months and (c) six months after completion.

Paul Goggins: This information is not held centrally for the period since national roll-out of the order in October 2000. An evaluation of three pilot projects found that the average amount spent on drugs by offenders subject to Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) fell from £400 per week in the four weeks before arrest to £25 per week in the first four to six weeks of the Order. These reductions were largely maintained over time, with 87 per cent. of those who had completed the Order by the end of the pilot phase reporting that, except for their use of cannabis, they were drug free.

EU Constitution

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on those sections of the draft EU constitution relating to (a) internal border controls and (b) people-trafficking.

Beverley Hughes: Reference to an area without internal borders is made in the existing Treaty establishing the European Community and the draft EU Constitutional Treaty. The existing Treaty is subject to the UK and Ireland's "frontiers' protocol" which gives the UK the right under the Treaties to exercise at its frontiers with other member states such controls on persons seeking to enter the United Kingdom as it considers necessary. The Protocols will remain an integral part of the new Treaty. The Government's position on this issue has not changed: we will maintain controls at the UK's frontiers.
	As a consequence of this position on frontiers, the United Kingdom has not participated in certain measures relating to external borders. However, the UK has co-operated with European Union partners in tackling illegal immigration and people trafficking. These are international problems that require international solutions. The new Constitutional Treaty will continue to provide a legal base for the Union to take appropriate action in these areas.
	For further information about the Government's position on the articles in the draft Constitutional Treaty dealing with the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, as presented to the Convention by the Praesidium on 14 March, I refer the hon. Member to the Explanatory Memorandum deposited by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (Denis MacShane) on 2 June.

Identity Cards

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the costs of the introduction of identity cards to (a) the Government and (b) the individual holder of the card.

Beverley Hughes: The consultation paper on entitlement cards and identity fraud provided a section on indicative cost assumptions. During the consultation period we have benefited from observations and comments received which have been helpful in contributing to further assessments of costs and the overall response to the consultation exercise.
	There are a number of different ways in which a scheme could be devised. Further, more detailed, work is needed on contractual delivery arrangements as well as the level of benefits for different services and the charges needed to cover the costs.
	The precise type of scheme would ultimately be a matter for Parliament to decide.

Immigration

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau in Croydon; how many applications where the applicant clearly falls under the immigration rules have been delayed beyond the expected minimum over the last year; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The performance of the Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau (INEB) has improved significantly in recent months. It is now answering between 24,000 and 25,000 calls a week compared to 17,000 a week at the beginning of this year. Callers now regularly get through to the Bureau in one or two attempts and average time in a queue has reduced from six minutes to two minutes. In a recent customer survey over 85 per cent. of those questioned described their experience of INEB as satisfactory or better.
	We normally aim to screen all postal applications within three weeks and decide at least 70 per cent. at that point. Because of the high number of applications in the latter part of 2002, it was taking up to 10 weeks on average at the end of last year and the earlier part of this one to take decisions on these cases. As a result of measures to improve this situation, the processing time for straightforward applications has reduced to four weeks on average and continued progress is being made towards our three-week target. At present where further inquiries are required, most cases are being decided within six months but because of the very high intake a small minority have taken up to 12 months to decide.

Memorials

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 1 June 2003, Official Report, column 1053W, on memorials, if he will take advice from the National Association of Funeral Directors on the matters being considered by the working group on guidance to local authorities on memorial safety.

Paul Goggins: The National Association of Funeral Directors has recently accepted membership of the Burial and Cemeteries Advisory Group. As a member, the Association is welcome to comment on any of the work being undertaken by the Advisory Group, including that of the memorial safety sub-group.

Mr. Rezart Elmarzi

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in support of the wish of Mr. Rezart Elmarzi, a constituent, to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 30 June 2003
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 1 July 2003.

Prison Incidents

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serious incidents there have been in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 12 months involving (a) riots, (b) peaceful protests, including sit-down protests, (c) assaults and (d) other disturbances.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is detailed in the table. The Prison Service's incident reporting system records the number of acts of concerted indiscipline rather than "riots". Similarly, acts of passive concerted indiscipline are recorded rather than the number of protests or sit down protests. In the course of the 12 months from June 2002 to May 2003, the number of assaults recorded was 11,462. The figures in the table are of those assaults which resulted in an injury to either staff or prisoners. The Prison Service does not have a category for "disturbances".
	
		
			  Number of acts of concerted indiscipline Number of acts of passive indiscipline Number of assaults 
		
		
			 June 2002 5 2 47 
			 July 2002 6 9 59 
			 August 2002 10 16 61 
			 September 2002 1 6 67 
			 October 2002 10 11 58 
			 November 2002 3 3 56 
			 December 2002 6 5 44 
			 January 2003 6 5 50 
			 February 2003 5 5 44 
			 March 2003 6 4 66 
			 April 2003 2 9 60 
			 May 2003 2 10 90 
			 Total 62 85 702

Prisoner Transfers

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment in England and Wales were transferred under (a) the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners and (b) the Commonwealth Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders in each year since 1997;
	(2)  if he will set out the process by which a prisoner can apply for transfer under (a) the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners and (b) the Commonwealth Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders;
	(3)  if he will list the countries with which the UK has bilateral prisoner transfer agreements.

Paul Goggins: The following table records how many prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment in England and Wales who were transferred under (a) the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners and (b) on the Commonwealth Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders in each year since 1997.
	
		
			  Council of Europe Convention Commonwealth Scheme 
		
		
			 1997 17 — 
			 1998 42 — 
			 1999 22 — 
			 2000 35 — 
			 2001 39 — 
			 2002 50 — 
		
	
	The process by which a prisoner can apply for transfer under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and the Commonwealth Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders is the same. An application for transfer can only be made by either the sentencing state or the receiving state. The prisoner can initiate the process by a written indication to either state of his/her wish to transfer. In the case of a prisoner in England and Wales, this is made by completing a request/complaint form, which is freely available within prisons.
	Both the sentencing state and the receiving state will consider the request. If both states approve the transfer then the prisoner will be asked to give his formal consent. Once all three parties have given their consent, arrangements will be made for the transfer of the prisoner.
	The United Kingdom has bilateral prisoner transfer agreements with the following countries:
	Egypt
	Thailand
	The Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong
	Brazil
	Morocco
	Barbados
	Venezuela
	The following agreements have been concluded but are not yet in force:
	Cuba
	Guyana
	Suriname
	Peru
	Sri Lanka
	Dominican Republic
	Antigua and Barbuda

Retired Police Officers

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the position of retired police officers who have their pension reduced to pay for an increased widows pension, where their wives pre-deceased them before or after retirement; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: In the period since 8 June 2001, hon. and right hon. Members have tabled one Early Day Motion, asked six questions and written 14 letters to Ministers on the general issue of widows' pensions. Five of these 14 letters were specifically concerned with officers whose pension has been reduced to pay for an increased widows' pension.
	We have sympathy for those who elected to have their pension reduced to pay for an increased widow's pension but whose wives pre-deceased them. However, such an election was an alternative option to paying increased pensions contributions while still serving. It would run counter to the principle of a contributory occupational pension scheme, in which benefits are guaranteed only in specified circumstances, to return contributions in any case where those circumstances did not apply.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

GM Crops

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which UK-based companies are involved in the development of genetically modified crops.

Elliot Morley: The Department does not have details of every UK-based company involved in the development of genetically modified crops. However, the following companies are members of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council, the industry body for companies involved in the development of agricultural biotechnology in the UK, including GM crops: Bayer CropScience, BASF, Dow Agrosciences, Dupont, Monsanto UK, and Syngenta.
	Further details of those companies granted consent to release GM crops for trial or research purposes under Part B of EC Directive 2001/18 are available on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/exper.htm

Biotechnology

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent in each year since 1995 (a) as a Department and (b) through grants to external bodies on (i) the promotion of and (ii) research into biotechnology.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 25 June 2003
	In the years since 1995 my department has spent the following on biotechnology research:
	
		
			 Financial year(10) (11)Total R&D spend on Biotechnology (£ million) 
		
		
			 1995–96 20.5 
			 1996–97 23.2 
			 1997–98 25.6 
			 1998–99 29.3 
			 1999–2000 25.3 
			 2000–01 29.4 
			 2001–02 29.7 
			 2002–03 33.2 
			 2003–04 26.23 
		
	
	(10) Defra was created during the 2001–02 FY. Figures for previous years cover old MAFF and DETR biotechnology research programmes
	(11) Defined as research into the application of biological organisms, systems and processes to manufacturing and service industries. This covers genetic modification research, but goes much wider to include, among other techniques, fused cell techniques, protein engineering, fermentation and cell culture techniques, the production of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.
	(12) Figures for the current year are provisional. A number of contracts may be in the process of being let and not yet included in year total.
	This money has all been spent through contracts with external bodies. No money has been spent by my department on the direct promotion of biotechnology.

Emissions Trading Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure the EU Emissions Trading Directive is implemented in such a way as to encourage energy efficiency downstream.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The purpose of the EU Emissions Trading Directive is to encourage reductions in direct emissions of carbon dioxide from certain industrial sectors. The Government have introduced other policy measures to encourage energy efficiency downstream, such as the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC), which requires electricity and gas suppliers to achieve targets for the promotion of improvements in domestic energy efficiency.
	Also, direct participants in the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme, and participants in Climate Change Agreements, have emissions reduction targets, that include indirect emissions of carbon dioxide from reducing electricity use on site.

Endangered Species

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she has taken to ensure that the UK's international policies protect endangered species.

Elliot Morley: The UK Government have pressed for action to help protect endangered species in a number of international fora. For example, at last November's Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Chile, I was able to persuade the delegates to list the basking shark on Appendix II. This will mean that the international trade in the fins and other parts of this vulnerable species will be more strictly regulated in future.
	Similar protection was also afforded to whale sharks, seahorses and big-leaf mahogany. The current high level of protection afforded to minke and bryde's whales was also maintained, despite efforts by Japan to downlist the species. Other successes included measures to conserve Asian big cats such as tigers and snow leopards and the development of strict measures for controlling any future trade in ivory stockpiles.

Fly Tipping

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 88W, on fly-tipping, what has been the outcome of her consideration of possible changes to legislation; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Proposals to help local authorities and the Environment Agency tackle the problem of fly tipping have been included in the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, currently before Parliament.
	The Bill includes measures that if successful will mean that local authorities will have powers to stop, search and seize vehicles suspected of being used for fly tipping. They will be able to investigate incidents to help them track down and prosecute those responsible for dumping the waste. The Bill will also create statutory directions that will formalise the current fly tipping protocol which has been agreed between the Local Government Association and the Environment Agency.
	The Government are also considering a wide range of other measures, details of which will be published later in 2003 and brought forward at the next legislative opportunity.

GM Debate Website

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hits have been recorded by the GM debate website: www.gmnation.org.uk

Elliot Morley: holding answer 30 June 2003
	In the first 18 days of June 2003, 1,487,024 hits were recorded by the GM Nation website. The hon. Member may wish to note that this does not represent the number of people that have visited the website, as each individual is likely to be responsible for multiple hits as they move around the website.

GM/Organic Produce

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many letters on the Government's policy on genetically modified food from (a) hon. Members, (b) private individuals and (c) organisations are waiting to be answered by the Department; how many have been waiting for more than 28 days; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Food Standards Agency is responsible for policy on genetically modified food. However, on GM issues for which this Department is responsible, the information is set out in the table as at 2 July 2003:
	
		
			  Total awaiting reply Number awaiting reply for more than 28 days 
		
		
			 Member 57 0 
			 Private individuals and organisations 145 4 
		
	
	A large number of letters from organisations and private individuals have been inspired by the recent announcement of the GM Public Debate.

GM/Organic Produce

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent in each year since 1995 on the promotion of (a) genetically-modified and (b) organic produce.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 25 June 2003
	No money has been spent by my Department on the promotion of genetically modified produce or on the promotion of organic produce. However, aid has been made available to farmers converting to organic farming (and from 5 June 2003 aid has been made available to existing organic farmers also). The Department also funds a programme of R&D on organic production. And advice for farmers considering organic farming is provided by the Organic Conversion Information Service (OCIS) which is funded by Defra. Spending on these since financial year 1994–95 is detailed in the following table but data for spending on OCIS before financial year 1999–2000 are not readily available.
	
		
			 Financial year Aid to organic farmers (£) R&D (£) OCIS (£) 
		
		
			 1994–95 27,000 1,058,000 (13)— 
			 1995–95 261,000 931,000 (13)— 
			 1996–97 374,000 1,116,000 (13)— 
			 1997–98 571,000 908,000 (13)— 
			 1998–99 1,026,000 1,491,000 (13)— 
			 1999–2000 12,469,000 2,035,000 788,000 
			 2000–01 11,397,000 2,207,000 601,000 
			 2001–02 10,910,000 2,193,000 327,000 
			 2002–03 12,567,000 1,791,000 301,000 
		
	
	(13) Not readily available

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable there is for producing voluntary agreements on household hazardous waste after June 2004.

Elliot Morley: Taking into account the composition of the waste stream, and in particular the low recycling rate and the toxicity of the waste product, we will be looking over the next 12 months at the scope for a voluntary producer responsibility agreement to increase the recycling of waste consumer batteries. We will also review the household waste stream to see what the most hazardous elements are with a view to identifying other possible candidates for a voluntary producer responsibility agreement with industry.

Hazardous Waste

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department takes to ensure that gas emissions from landfill and hazardous waste sites do not pose any risk to public health.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The Environment Agency regulates gaseous emissions from landfill and hazardous waste sites to minimise the damage to the environment and risk to human health. In particular, the Agency requires that appropriate measures are taken to control the accumulation and migration of landfill gas. Typically this will involve the active collection, treatment and combustion of landfill gas to minimise the potential impacts.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statutory framework regulates the discharge of untreated hazardous liquid waste directly to sewage treatment plants for disposal; and if she will list the permitted chemical and biological components of such waste.

Elliot Morley: Sewerage undertakers have powers to control and reduce discharges of substances such as untreated hazardous liquid waste into sewers. If they consider the discharge constitutes trade effluent, their consent is required in accordance with the provisions of the Water Industry Act 1991. The consent may set conditions and require the elimination or diminution of any specified constituent of the trade effluent before it enters the sewer. Such a discharge without the undertaker's agreement is a criminal offence.
	Applications for any special category effluent have to be referred to the Environment Agency before consent can be given. Where the effluent is produced as part of a prescribed process, it will also require a permit from the Agency under the Environment Act 1995 and the Pollution, Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1973).
	Where a sewerage undertaker agrees to accept liquid waste delivered to a sewage works by road tanker, the reception, storage, and pre-treatment of the waste is additionally controlled by waste management law (a waste management licence or Pollution Prevention Control Permit depending upon the activities and their scale). The final effluent produced by the works and released back into the environment must meet the conditions or standards required in a Discharge Consent issued by the Environment Agency under the Water Resources Act 1991.
	No list of permitted chemical and biological components exists as such. Each case has to be assessed individually and will depend on the capabilities of the specific treatment works and the quality standards to be achieved in the receiving waters.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many litres of untreated hazardous liquid waste were sent directly to sewage treatment plants for disposal in each year since 1999.

Elliot Morley: The information requested is not held centrally. However, the Environment Agency is compiling the information and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the hazardous wastes which her Department and the Environment Agency have decided (a) can be adequately treated by dilution and (b) require additional treatment for disposal.

Elliot Morley: Dilution is not generally considered to be the best practicable environmental option for disposal of hazardous waste, although technically it would be possible to operate such a process subject to the conditions of an environmental licence or authorisation (permit) to ensure the protection of the environment and human health.
	Implementation of the Landfill Directive to meet the EU Waste Acceptance Criteria will require all wastes to be treated before they are landfilled. Dilution would not be an acceptable form of treatment.

Hens

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much it would cost to introduce enriched cages for hens by 2012; and if she will make a statement on the implications for production costs of alternative production methods recently researched by her.

Ben Bradshaw: A Regulatory Impact Assessment was carried out for the implementation of the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. Given an industry estimate of £14.86 per bird and assuming that 10.2 million laying hens would transfer from conventional cages to enriched cages, we believe that it would cost around £151.6 million net present value. Further economic assessments of production methods will be made in preparation for the 2005 Review of Directive 1999/74/EC.

Horse Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on horse welfare in the United Kingdom; and what plans she has to improve horse welfare.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has begun a review of animal welfare legislation relating to captive, domestic and sporting animals. The intention is to update and consolidate the legislation into one Animal Welfare Act. The new legislation would be pro-active and would allow action to be taken before an animal suffers if it is not being given appropriate care. Areas for consideration under the new Bill include licensing of livery yards and a statutory code of practice on tethering. My Department has been in consultation with a number or interested parties about the review and we aim to have a public consultation on a draft Bill early next year.

Household Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress of plans for a study of the potential of deposit refund schemes in the United Kingdom to promote (a) refuse and (b) waste minimisation.

Elliot Morley: We believe there may be environmental and commercial benefits in a deposit and return system for some bottles and other containers. A deposits system would involve the public directly in waste collection and this would help to change the culture of waste collection and recycling.
	We are currently investigating the deposit systems used in other European countries. Some of these countries have reported very high administrative costs, which could make these schemes a more expensive way of recycling products than other collection methods. Some countries have reported benefits from such systems, particularly in terms of higher recycling rates, but sometimes these occur in the countries which have high packaging waste recycling targets and it is not clear that deposit systems on their own would deliver high recycling rates in a cost-effective way.
	We would therefore need to consider both the costs and benefits of a possible deposit scheme in the United Kingdom. In particular, we would have to examine how deposit systems could complement and add to other means of encouraging waste minimization and recycling, such as the packaging Regulations.

Household Waste

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantities of (a) paper, (b) glass, (c) cans, (d) oil and (e) bottles are recycled through council-organised recycling schemes in (i) Redcar, (ii) the north-east and (iii) England.

Elliot Morley: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		Household waste recycling 2001–02 -- tonnes
		
			 Material Redcar and Cleveland UA North-east region England 
		
		
			 Paper and card 467 29,000 959,000 
			 Glass 359 11,000 428,000 
			 Cans 267 1,000 26,000 
			 Oil 15 n/a n/a 
		
	
	Source:
	Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey 2001–02
	We do not hold a figure for bottles. The glass figure will include glass bottles collected for recycling.

Household Waste

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of household rubbish is recycled through council-organised recycling schemes in (a) Redcar, (b) the North East and (c) England.

Elliot Morley: The household waste recycling rate for 2001–02 was as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Household waste recycling rate 2001–02 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2 
			 North East Region 5 
			 England 12 
		
	
	Source:
	Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey 2001–02

Invasive Weeds

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what duties are placed on local authorities to assist with the safe disposal of invasive weeds; who is responsible for monitoring this process to ensure that all waste is safely disposed of to ensure that rhizomes cannot spread; and whether she plans to issue further guidance and assistance to local authorities to ensure these criteria are met.

Elliot Morley: Local authorities' responsibilities for the collection and disposal of waste are set out in sections 45, 48 and 51 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These responsibilities relate to local authorities' functions as waste collection and waste disposal authorities.
	Section 34 of the 1990 Act imposes a duty of care on everyone with responsibility for waste—including waste collection and disposal authorities. It requires everyone subject to the duty to take all reasonable measures to prevent the escape of waste from their control and to ensure that it is disposed of by someone who is authorised to do so. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has issued a Code of Practice under section 34(7) of the 1990 Act, providing practical guidance on how to discharge this duty of care.
	The provisions of the 1990 Act mentioned above apply to household, industrial and commercial waste—collectively defined as "controlled waste". Material containing Japanese knotweed is treated as controlled waste to help prevent its further spread.
	No specific obligation is placed on local authorities under these controls to dispose of invasive weeds more generally as waste.

Live Animal Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions and convictions there have been regarding live animal transport by (a) type and (b) country of origin of the vehicle in each of the last 20 years.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of prosecutions under welfare in transport legislation are published in the annual "Return of Expenditure Incurred and Prosecutions taken under the Animal Health Act 1981, and Incidences of Disease in Imported Animals" which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The number of prosecutions reported were:
	
		
			 (1 October to 30 September) Order Number of prosecutions 
		
		
			 2001–02 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 53 
			 2000–01 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 29 
			 1999–2000 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 54 
			 1998–99 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 82 
			 1997–98 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1994 45 
			 1996–97 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1994 65 
			 1995–96 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1994 91 
			 1994–95 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1994 95 
			 1993–94 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1992 46 
			 1992–93 Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1992 11 
			 1991–92 Transit of Animals (General) Order 1973 18 
			  Transit of Animals (Road and Rail) Order 1975 (as amended) (14)89 
			  Welfare of Poultry (Transport) Order 1988 (as amended) 5 
			 1990–91 Transit of Animals (General) Order 1973 18 
			  Transit of Animals (Road and Rail) Order 1975 (as amended) (14)121 
			  Welfare of Poultry (Transport) Order 1988 (as amended) 7 
			 1989–90 Transit of Animals (General) Order 1973 61 
			  Transit of Animals (Road and Rail) Order 1975 (as amended) (14)56 
			  Welfare of Poultry (Transport) Order 1988 (as amended) 3 
			 1988–89 Transit of Animals (General) Order 1973 6 
			  Transit of Animals (Road and Rail) Order 1975 (as amended) (14)57 
			  Welfare of Poultry (Transport) Order 1988 (as amended) 4 
			 1987–88 Transit of Animals (General) Order 1973 12 
			  Transit of Animals (Road and Rail) Order 1975 (as amended) (14)62 
		
	
	(14) This figure includes prosecutions which do not relate to the welfare of animals. Separate figures for the welfare of animals are not available.
	Notes:
	Prior to 1987–88 information on prosecution returns was not kept.
	Prosecution figures are not kept by type and country of origin of the vehicle.
	Information on convictions is not held centrally.

Live Exports

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with her European counterparts since April 2002 on removing European Union obstacles to the ban on live exports and their replacement by meat exports; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 1 July 2003
	Judgments in the European Court of Justice have confirmed that a ban on the live export of animals would be illegal under the Treaty of Rome. Instead of seeking a ban, we have continued to press in the Agriculture Council for the European Commission to bring forward improved controls for the welfare of animals during transport. Commissioner David Byrne has now said that he expects to produce these long overdue proposals in July 2003. Most of our exports are of meat. We are supporting action to improve competitiveness in the red meat food chain with a view to strengthening meat supply chains both at home and in export markets.

Methane

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the quantity of methane which is being released annually by the northward retreat of permafrost and the consequent impact on climate change.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 30 June 2003
	Methane concentrations have increased by a factor of 2.5 since pre-industrial times and account for about 20 per cent. of the climate warming due to greenhouse gases. The increase in concentration is mostly due to increases in anthropogenic emissions (from sources such as landfills, energy production and biomass burning). We have no estimates for the current annual release rate from such areas but methane emissions from high-latitude permafrost areas are likely to have made a contribution to climate change due to greenhouse gases of less than 1 per cent.

Modulation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the higher rates of modulation on larger farms; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 June 2003
	The deal on CAP reform agreed by the Agriculture Council on 26 June 2003 represents a real shift in agricultural policy. It will provide a more sustainable basis for European agriculture and reflect the wider environmental and rural development objectives, which society seeks to achieve.
	The first Euro5,000 of every recipient's subsidy is exempt from modulation. However, this means that the effective modulation rate is higher on farms in receipt of higher levels of subsidy. However, this should be viewed in the context of the whole package of reforms. An assessment of the economic impact of the Commission's January proposals on the long-term perspective for sustainable agriculture is available on the Defra website (http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/capreform.pdf), and an assessment of the impact of the outcome of the negotiations will be made available in future.

OSPAR Ministerial Meeting

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from non-governmental organisations on the Ospar ministerial meeting in Bremen.

Elliot Morley: Defra officials discussed a range of issues on biodiversity with Wildlife and Countryside Link on 29 May 2003. Greenpeace also made representations in relation to radioactive substances.
	Non-governmental organisations also made representations directly to the Bremen meeting. In addition, I met both Wildlife and Countryside Link and Greenpeace in Bremen prior to the start of the meeting.

Recycling

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will review the assistance the Government gives to charity shops in promoting the reuse of goods; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government do not give assistance specifically for this purpose, although there are many ways in which we support the work of charities in general and in which we promote the reuse and recycling of materials. We are always willing to receive representations and ideas about specific measures that would benefit either or both of these causes.

Recycling

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to stop the export of recyclable materials from the UK to other countries for treatment; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government have no plans at present to prevent the export of recyclable materials for treatment. Our priority is to increase the amount of waste that is reused or recycled; to achieve these aims may necessitate the export of recyclate. The Government have taken action to increase recycling markets in the UK by setting up the Waste and Resources Action Programme, which was set up to lead on recycling market development in the United Kingdom.

Rights of Way

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many miles of footpaths are in use.

Alun Michael: In England and Wales it is estimated that there are 173,940 km of public rights of way that are footpaths. There are no figures held centrally to show how many miles of footpath are in use, and the information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, the 1998 Day Visits Survey, which surveyed leisure day visits in both urban and rural areas, found that walking was a principal activity on approximately 930 million trips in England and Wales. The 2002 Leisure Day Visits Survey will be published in the autumn this year.

Rural Payments Agency

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many payments to farmers were completed after the target date by the Rural Payments Agency in each month in (a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02, (c) 2002–03 and (d) 2003–04 to date, broken down by type.

Alun Michael: Since the Rural Payments Agency was established on 16 October 2001 the number of payments made to farmers after the target date is as follows.
	
		
			 2001–02 Scheme October November December January February March 
		
		
			 F&V Withdrawal — 2 — — — — 
			 OTMS Deadweight — — — 3 — — 
			 OTMS Incineration 1 3 13 3 — 1 
			 OTMS Mincing 4 — — 3 — 2 
			 Main AAPS Payments — — — — 2114 355 
			 SAPS — 4 — — 2 1 
			 BSPS 49 41 — — 1 15 
		
	
	ERDP Schemes are subject to rolling payment deadlines that are calculated from the date an individual claim is received by the Rural Development Service who administer the schemes on behalf of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The exception being the Hill Farm allowance which is administered by RPA and has a target of 95 per cent. of payments to be made by the end of March.
	
		
			 2001 Scheme Total number of claims Claims processed after target date 
		
		
			 Countryside Stewardship Scheme 9,359 2,901 
			 Environmentally Sensitive Areas I-III 8,336 1,167 
			 Environmentally Sensitive Areas IV 3,127 187 
			 Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 6,464 3,813 
			 Organic Farming Scheme 1,242 322 
			 Energy Crops Scheme 15 2 
			 Processing and Marketing Grant 17 3 
			 Rural Enterprise Scheme 229 39 
			 Vocational Training Scheme 70 6 
		
	
	
		
			 2002–03 Scheme April May June July August September 
		
		
			 OTMS Liveweight — — — — — — 
			 OTMS Incineration — — — — — — 
			 OTMS Mincing — — — — — — 
			 Main MRS Payments 16 20 11 25 5 11 
			 Non Food Set-Aside 150 20 20 10 3 5 
			 SAPS — — — — — — 
			 BSPS 5 4 — 8 — 5,800 
			 SCPS — — — — — 1,982 
			 SPS — — — — — 5,565 
			 EPS — — — — — 948 
		
	
	
		
			 2002–03 Scheme October November December January February March 
		
		
			 OTMS Liveweight — — — 14 — — 
			 OTMS Incineration — — 4 — — — 
			 OTMS Mincing 3 — — 3 — — 
			 Main MRS Payments — — — — 341 98 
			 Non Food Set-Aside 1 — — — — — 
			 SAPS 3 5  2 2 2 
			 BSPS 4,396 1,894 954 776 791 550 
			 SCPS 2,109 982 319 634 883 424 
			 SPS 7,433 3,026 3,925 1,832 5,128 3,663 
			 EPS 488 385 117 125 222 166 
		
	
	ERDP Schemes are subject to rolling payment deadlines that are calculated from the date an individual claim is received by the Rural Development Service who administer the schemes on behalf of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The exception being the Hill Farm Allowance which is administered by RPA and has a target of 95 per cent. of payments to be made by the end of March.
	
		
			 2002 Scheme Total number of claims Claims processed after target date 
		
		
			 Countryside Stewardship Scheme 19,790 3,364 
			 Environmentally Sensitive Areas I-III 7,458 2,162 
			 Environmentally Sensitive Areas IV 3,120 62 
			 Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 7,683 230 
			 Organic Farming Scheme 1,489 148 
			 Processing and Marketing Grant 61 11 
			 Rural Enterprise Scheme 898 197 
			 Vocational Training Scheme 223 22 
			 Hill Farm Allowance 11,116 222 
		
	
	
		
			 2003–04 Scheme April May June 
		
		
			 Main AAPS Payments 17 25 — 
			 Non Food Set-Aside 242 33 — 
			 SAPS 15 8 46 
			 BSPS 259 193 223 
			 SCPS 107 3 — 
			 SPS 3,083 707 422 
			 EPS 47 41 23 
		
	
	ERDP Schemes are subject to rolling payment deadlines that are calculated from the date an individual claim is received by the Rural Development Service who administer the schemes on behalf of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The exception being the Hill Farm Allowance which is administered by RPA and has a target of 95 per cent. of payments to be made by the end of March.
	
		
			 2003 Scheme Total number of claims Claims processed after target date 
		
		
			 Organic Farming Scheme 694 146 
			 Rural Enterprise Scheme 253 38 
			 Vocational Training Scheme 70 4

Rural Payments Agency

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions her Department is taking to deal with administrative problems across the border between England and Wales in processing payments by the Rural Payments Agency.

Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and National Assembly for Wales Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department (NAWARAD) are in regular communication in respect of subsidy claims which cover land and animals, in both England and Wales. The majority of such claims which have been validated have received at least interim payments.
	In addition, automated interfaces are being developed between England and Wales for the bovine schemes.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has held in the last year with voluntary organisations on the Waste and Resources Action Programme; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government holds frequent discussions with the voluntary sector on waste management issues and they took part in discussions with the Strategy Unit during their waste study. However we have had no recent discussions with them about the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
	WRAP was set up as an independent company by Government, to promote sustainable waste management by working to create stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products. As an independent company we look to WRAP to identify the issues it feels it needs to discuss with the voluntary sector and take action accordingly.
	We are aware that WRAP holds regular independent discussions with the voluntary sector and, in particular more recently, concerning their intended new work following the announcement of their extended role under the Waste Implementation Programme. WRAP has also recently established an electronic stakeholder dialogue which is open to voluntary organisations.

Waste Incineration

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's assessment that the Waste Incineration Directive does not apply to on-farm drum incinerators and waste oil burners; whether her officials have discussed this interpretation with officials from the European Commission; and whether officials from the European Commission have expressed agreement in writing with this interpretation.

Elliot Morley: In draft Guidance on Directive 2000/76/EC on the incineration of waste, published for consultation in February 2003, the Government expressed the view that the definition of "incineration plant" used in that Directive is not intended to encompass small units or appliances which would be incapable of complying with the requirements of the Directive under any circumstances.
	The Directive includes provisions in relation to residence time, temperature control, monitoring, and compliance with emission limit values, which only plants of a reasonable size and technical sophistication would be capable of meeting. Small, basic units do not easily fit either the description "technical unit" which is used in the Directive definition or the scope of the incineration site which is evidently envisaged by this definition.
	The Government consider that units which are not included within the scope of the Directive on this basis include on-farm drum incinerators and small space heaters or other waste oil burners (used for example on garage premises). However, operations of this type will continue to be controlled under the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC as amended) which requires them to be subject to either a permit (Article 9) or the general rules of an exemption registered with the "competent authority" (Article 11). The objective of these controls is to ensure that waste is disposed of in ways which protect the environment and human health (Article 4).
	This means that, on the proposed repeal of the exclusion for agricultural waste in section 75(7)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the waste management controls of Part II of the 1990 Act and the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 will apply to on-farm drum incinerators. Small space heaters and other waste oil burners are prescribed for local authority regulation under Part I of the 1990 Act and the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000.
	The draft Guidance on Directive 2000/76/EC was issued for a consultation period which closed on 16 May. Officials are currently considering consultation responses with a view to finalising the Guidance later this year, still in plenty of time for the Directive's coming into force for existing installations from 28 December 2005. A copy of the finalised Guidance will be sent to the relevant officials in the European Commission, thus providing them with an opportunity to comment.

Waste Incineration

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the impact on the environment of excluding (a) on-farm drum incinerators and (b) waste oil burners from the Waste Incineration Directive.

Elliot Morley: UK estimates of emissions from a range of sources are contained in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and are published annually. Full NAEI data are available at the NAEI website www.naei.org.uk. However, the NAEI does not contain data at the level of detail requested and so no correspondingly detailed quantitative assessment of the environmental impact of these devices has been made.
	The Waste Incineration Directive includes provisions which can apply only plant of a reasonable size and thus with potential to cause significant pollution, whereas small units such as these do not easily fit either the description "technical unit" used in the Directive definition or the scope of the incineration site which is evidently envisaged by this definition. However, operations of this type will continue to be controlled under other legislation.

Waste Incineration

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many tonnes of waste oil were sent for recycling in each year since 1999;
	(2)  how many tonnes of waste oil were burned in waste oil burners in each year since 1999.

Elliot Morley: Virtually all waste lubricating oil collected in the UK is treated to meet a specification as a recovered fuel oil and is burnt as fuel in coal fired power stations and other large manufacturing units.
	The last years for which figures for combustion of oil have been collated are 1999 and 2000 during which approximately 380,000 tonnes and 360,000 tonnes respectively of waste lubricating oil were burnt as fuel.
	4,000 tonnes of waste oil were recycled into base lubricating oil in 1999. There has been no recycling in subsequent years.

Waste Incineration

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the impact on the environment of (a) on-farm drum incinerators, (b) waste oil burners and (c) on-farm carcass incinerators.

Elliot Morley: UK estimates of emissions from a range of sources are contained in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and are published annually. Full NAEI data are available at the NAEI website www.naei.org.uk. There are no data at the level of (a) and (b). However, the Department commissioned an independent report to measure and review atmospheric emissions from small carcase incinerators, which was published in August 2002. This is available on the Defra website at http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project data/Default.asp under Project Code WA0806.

Waste Management

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 17 June 2003, Official Report, column 209W, if she will make a statement on the contents of the register used to provide the information in her answer of 17 March 2003, Official Report, column 506W, and distinguish it from the data held as part of the Environment Agency Register of Waste Management Licences, which are kept under part 2 of the Environment Protection Act 1990.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency's Register of Waste Management Licences is a list of those who hold waste management licences.
	The information used in reply to the hon. Member's question of 17 March comes from a separate public register, which contain details of breaches to air emissions limit values. Copies of the breaches are sent to local authorities who also place them on public record.

Waste Management

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the (a) impact and (b) timing of changes to UK legislation and the National Waste Strategy arising from changes in EU policy on municipal waste incinerators and waste recovery targets.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 1 July 2003
	Recent cases in the European Court of Justice in relation to the incineration and co-incineration of waste have sought to distinguish between waste recovery and waste disposal operations. I am aware that these recent judgments could have a significant impact on the ability of member states to meet certain recycling and recovery targets, most notably those in the packaging and packaging waste directive (94/62/EC).
	However, the European Commission is currently reviewing the lists of recovery and disposal operations in the waste framework directive (75/442/EEC as amended) and has begun work in this area with the adoption of the Communication "Towards a thematic strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste" (COM(2003)301) and by launching a study on issues relating to the lists in Annexes IIA and IIB of the Directive. The Government consider that it would be premature to implement any changes to UK legislation and the waste strategy whilst this review is ongoing.

Waste Management

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what measures her Department takes to ensure that independent assessments undertaken on behalf of operators of landfill and hazardous waste sites to ascertain the possible risks to public health from activities conducted at the site in question are credible and independent;
	(2)  what measures the Environment Agency takes to ensure that independent assessments undertaken of possible risks posed to public health from activity conducted at a landfill and hazardous waste site are credible and independent;
	(3)  what measures her Department takes to ensure that when the licence of a landfill and hazardous waste site is being reviewed issues of public health are considered;
	(4)  what measures her Department takes to ensure that companies employed by landfill and hazardous waste site operators to produce independent assessments when examining public health issues are impartial and best qualified to undertake the assessments.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 1 July 2003
	The objective of the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC as amended by 91/156/EEC) is to ensure that waste is disposed of without endangering human health or harming the environment (Article 4). The Directive's controls include the need for a permit (licence) for the disposal of waste and are supplemented by the requirements of the Hazardous Waste Directive (91/689/EEC) and the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC). The Environment Agency is prescribed as a "competent authority" for the purposes of each Directive.
	Paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 imposes a duty on the Agency to discharge its functions relating to the disposal of waste with regard to the objectives of Article 4 of the Waste Framework Directive. These functions include the issuing of licences for landfill sites and the review of those licences. The purpose of licences and their conditions is to ensure that waste is disposed of without endangering human health or harming the environment.
	Section 35(8) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires the Environment Agency to have regard to guidance issued to it by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, in the discharge of its licensing functions. The main guidance issued to the Agency under section 35(8) of the 1990 Act is set out in Waste Management Paper No.4 (ISBN 0–11–752727–0) and deals with issues such as the operator's management systems and quality assurance (paragraphs 4.21- 4.25).
	Subject to these considerations, it rests with the Environment Agency, in fulfilment of its functions as a "competent authority" and having regard to the facts of each case, to reach decisions on the effectiveness and quality of monitoring assessments undertaken by or on behalf of licence holders.

Waste Management

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list those industries for which the Government plans voluntary agreements to reduce waste and increase the use of recycled materials and the recyclability of products.

Elliot Morley: We will seek to apply voluntary producer responsibility agreements where they are the best option to deliver maximum environmental benefit. We believe the best approach is to assess which waste streams are particularly problematic and might therefore lend themselves most effectively to such agreements; to determine whether the development of such an agreement would be proportionate to the size of the problem; and what the financial and environmental costs and benefits of such agreements would be; and to establish whether the waste streams concerned are already the subject of other mechanisms, including regulations and the work of other organizations, such as WRAP.
	At present, we have a voluntary producer responsibility agreement in place with the newspaper publishers. We hope shortly to reach agreement with the producers of direct mail and promotions and are talking to the magazine publishers about a possible agreement. Other waste materials which might be suitable for future voluntary agreements with industry are batteries and farm plastics.

Waste Management

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list those stakeholders her Department (a) has held discussions with and (b) intends to hold discussions with on a voluntary agreement for the recycling of waste consumer batteries.

Elliot Morley: The Government have not yet held any meetings with stakeholders to discuss the development of a voluntary agreement for the recycling of consumer batteries. Key stakeholders have been identified as being producers and importers, other industry representatives, battery reprocessors, including recyclers, local authorities and other battery collectors. The stakeholders will shortly be invited to attend a preliminary meeting to discuss the scope for an agreement.

Waste Oil Burners

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many waste oil burners in England (a) use and (b) do not use pollution abatement equipment.

Elliot Morley: The standards for small waste oil burners involve ensuring that the burners are designed to cater for waste oil and are maintained so that there is good combustion; that the content of the waste oil is within specified parameters; and that there is a chimney of a height sufficient to disperse and dilute the emissions. Given that these conditions are fulfilled, abatement equipment is not specified in the statutory guidance. The main other processes burning waste oil are in the minerals sector and power stations. We believe that the majority of the former achieve specified emission limits without the need for pollution abatement equipment. Power stations are fitted with abatement.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her Answer, 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 609W, on asbestos, if she will list the buildings which have been identified as containing asbestos.

Richard Caborn: Pursuant to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987 and amendments of 1992 and 1998 risk assessments were carried out by inspections of all reasonably accessible places in the Department's four buildings. No asbestos was found to be present in any of the buildings during those inspections. During the last 12 years each of the buildings has been subject to significant refurbishment and no asbestos was revealed.

Gambling

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what measures are in place to ensure that on-line gambling operators are not used as a vehicle for the laundering of illegally obtained funds.

Richard Caborn: Under the current legislation, online gaming is prohibited from being offered by companies based in Britain. However, betting operators are free to offer their services online, and t his will continue under the Government's proposals to modernise the gambling laws. The planned Gambling Bill will permit online gaming , and all British based online gambling operators will be subject to regulation by the Gambling Commission which will include measures to prevent crime. In advance of the new legislation, a money laundering code of practice is being developed between the DCMS, law enforcement agencies and bookmakers to reinforce the present money laundering arrangements.

Government Reshuffle

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much was spent on printing departmental notepaper and publicity material showing (a) Lord McIntosh as Minister responsible for broadcasting, (b) the honourable Member for Sheffield Central as Minister responsible for sport and tourism and (c) the Right honourable Member for Birmingham, Yardley as Minister responsible for arts and film;
	(2)  how much has been spent on reprinting departmental notepaper and publicity material following ministerial changes since 12th June;
	(3)  how much was spent on providing departmental notepaper and publicity material showing Lord McIntosh as the Minister responsible for tourism, film and broadcasting.

Richard Caborn: Nothing has been spent on reprinting departmental notepaper following the Ministerial changes on 12 June 2003. The only amount spent on publicity material following changes, is a combined cost of £384 on photographs for the two Ministers appointed to DCMS.

Mobile Phones

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost was to her Department of mobile phones supplied to ministers and officials in each year since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The cost to the Department of mobile phones supplied to ministers and officials was 25,500 in 2000–01, 21,000 in 2001–02, 29,000 in 2002–03 and 9,500 as of the start of July this year. It is not possible to provide figures prior to 2000 save at disproportionate cost.

Regeneration (Sports)

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the role of sport and sport-related activities in achieving regeneration; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Government fully recognises the important role that sport can play in the regeneration of both urban and rural areas and in addressing a whole range of social issues such as better health, reduced crime and social inclusion. In particular the Policy Directions issued to Sport England in respect of the distribution of the Lottery Sports Fund require it, in deciding applications for funding, to have regard the scope for reducing economic and social deprivation, the need to promote access to sport for people from all sections of society and the need to further the objectives of sustainable development taking into account social and community progress and employment opportunities created by sports projects. Since 1995 Sport England has awarded over £1.5 billion of Lottery funding. Sport England has also introduced a number of other specific initiatives aimed at the regeneration of deprived areas, such as Sport Action Zones.
	In addition, our analysis of the costs and benefits of hosting the Olympic Games in London in 2012 has included an assessment of the regeneration benefits achieved by past host cities and also the significant regeneration benefits for Manchester as a result of staging the Commonwealth Games in 2002.

Rugby Union

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial support was provided to the development of rugby union in each of the last five years.

Richard Caborn: The information in respect to England is set out in the following table.
	
		£
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Lottery funding 2,639,843 2,183,013 7,016,190 2,729,162 8,588,395 
			 Exchequer funding 184,100 257,967 428,854 375,312 341,333

Sports Funding

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent on sport-related activities by her Department and its predecessors in each of the last 20 years broken down by (a) central government, (b) Lottery and (c) other funding.

Richard Caborn: The Exchequer funding for Sport, the Capital Modernisation Funding of Space for Sports and Arts, Lottery awards made through Sport England and UK Sport and awards from the New Opportunities Fund are shown in the following table.
	
		£ million
		
			 Year Exchequer Capital modernisaton fund-space for sports and arts Lottery awards New opportunities fund 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1983–84 27.12
			 1984–85 28.60
			 1985–86 30.11
			 1986–87 37.35
			 1987–88 37.15
			 1988–89 38.41
			 1989–90 41.88
			 1990–91 44.86
			 1991–92 47.47
			 1992–93 50.40
			 1993–94 54.40   
			 1994–95 53.55
			 1995–96 53.95  57.00  
			 1996–97 51.89  170.00  
			 1997–98 50.13  294.00  
			 1998–99 49.36  399.00  
			 1999–00 51.59  296.88  
			 2000–01 52.57 0.01 242.35  
			 2001–02 63.90 0.58 336.55  
			 2002–03 112.12 50.46 288.56 99.01 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The Exchequer figures up to 1991–92 cover the support for the Sports Council for Great Britain and the Football Licensing Authority;
	2. The Department of Heritage was formed in April 1992 and became the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 1998–99.
	3. A Royal Charter set up the Sports Council of Great Britain in 1972. The Sports council had a remit covering British Sport as a whole but was mainly involved in English sports matters. There were separate autonomous councils for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales funded by their respective departments.
	4. The Football Licensing Authority was established under the Football Spectators Act 1989 and transferred from the Home Office during 1992–93.
	5. On 1 January 1997 the Sports Council of Great Britain was superseded by the UK Sports Council and English Sports Council
	6. The figures for 2002–03 include final provision of £34 million in support of the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
	7. The figures in the table cover New Opportunities in PE and Sport (including awards to the Football Foundation and Space for Sports and Arts) and the Out of School Hours/School Sports Co-ordinators schemes.
	8. In addition there are other sport funding programmes that are funded through the New Opportunities Fund:
	a. £30 million for England administered by Sport England for the Playing Fields and Community Green Spaces scheme; and,
	b. £9 million to be delivered by Barnado's and Children's Play Council through the Better Play Grant
	The Exchequer and Capital Modernisation Funding figures shown for 2002–03 are final Supply Estimate provision. All other figures reflect actual outturn. The figures for 1983–84 to 1997–98 are recorded on a cash basis with the figures for 1998–99 onwards recorded on a resource basis.

Tennis

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial support was provided to the development of tennis in each of the last five years; and what proportion was provided to youth development.

Richard Caborn: The information in respect to England is set out in the following table.
	
		£
		
			  1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 
		
		
			 Lottery funding 7,385,360 2,631,804 3,488,451 9,291,574 7,550,020 
			 Exchequer funding 37,188 None None None None 
		
	
	The proportion of funding provided to youth development is not centrally recorded.

Volunteering

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the financial value of volunteering for sport-related activities.

Richard Caborn: The UK has a network of 110,000 community amateur sports clubs run by 1.5 million volunteers. The financial value of the voluntary sector is difficult to estimate. The Leisure Industries Research Centre did, in 1996, make the following estimate (reproduced in the December 2002 DCMS/Strategy Unit Report, "Game Plan: a strategy for delivering Government's sport and physical activity objectives"):
	
		
			 Type of Sport Volunteer Volunteer hours (m) per year Value of volunteer hours at £3.81 per hour (£m) 
		
		
			 Governing Bodies/Sports Clubs in 94 sports 165.5 1,375 
			 International events hosted in UK 0.3 2 
			 Disabled Sport 3.2 26 
			 Schools 2.6 21 
			 Youth organisations 11.6 96 
			 Total 183.2 1,522

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Small Business Regulation

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the (a) level and (b) cost of regulations imposed on small businesses by her Department since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: There is no established method of assessing the precise level or cost of imposing or removing regulations on SMES, either before 1997 or after. The latest 2002 figures indicate a reduction in new Statutory Instruments over 1996–97.

Developing Countries (UK Trade Access)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what efforts her Department has made to expand access to developing countries for UK industry.

Mike O'Brien: Our aim in the Doha Trade Round is to promote fair trade. Expanding access to the markets in developing countries can help them be more competitive. However developing countries also need the added benefit of special and differential measures to address particular difficulties in some developing countries.

Community Pharmacies

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the Office of Fair Trading's proposals for local pharmacies.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government made an interim response to the OFT's report on control of entry regulation for pharmacies on 26 March. In relation to England, the Government have said that they are still considering the report and its recommendation and will announce before the summer recess a balanced package of proposals, which we believe is the most effective means of promoting change to open up the market and improve quality and access without diminishing the crucial role that pharmacies play, especially in poorer and rural areas.

Miners' Compensation

Harry Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received in the past month about extending the miners' compensation scheme for those with chest diseases to those who worked as cokemen.

Stephen Timms: I am aware that the hon. Member has raised this issue with the Leader of the House. The Department has received no representations this month.

Miners' Compensation

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reasons have been given to former coal miners by IRISC for the denial of claims received from Moss Solicitors of Loughborough for compensation payments for (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and (b) vibration white finger for the period (i) April 2000 to April 2001, (ii) April 2001 to April 2002 and (iii) April 2002 to April 2003.

Stephen Timms: The Department's claim handlers, IRISC, are unable to provide detailed reasons in the format requested.
	I can advise that, under the terms of the British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation, claims are denied where the respiratory specialist who assessed the claim is of the opinion that the claimant is not suffering from any compensatable disease, or he was not employed with British Coal after 1954 (1949 in Scotland), the date of liability.
	Claims for Vibration White Finger are denied where the claimants' employment records indicate that he was not employed in an occupation with British Coal whereby he would have been exposed to excessive vibration, or he was not employed with British Coal, after 1975, the accepted date of liability, or the full Medical Assessment Process (MAP) report determines that he is not suffering from VWF.
	This is in accordance with the High Court Judgments.

Veterinary Medicines

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the Competition Commission's report on the sale of veterinary medicines.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has accepted the Competition Commission's report and the recommendations and proposed remedies contained in it. The changes proposed by the Commission aim to increase competition in the supply of prescription-only veterinary medicines while ensuring that human and animal health continue to be protected.

Paper-making Industry

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received from the paper-making industry about competition conditions within the European Union.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No recent representations have been received.

Civil Partnerships

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the intended timescale for legislation on civil partnerships.

Patricia Hewitt: The consultation period on civil partnership registration will end on 30 September 2003. The Government will consider the next steps in the light of responses to the consultation paper. No decisions have yet been taken about legislation on civil partnership registration.

Departmental Staff

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the percentage of staff employed by the Department for Trade and Industry who (a) are able to cope with the demands of their jobs, (b) have a say about the way they do their work, (c) receive adequate information and support from their colleagues and superiors, (d) understand their role and responsibilities, (e) are not subject to unacceptable behaviour such as bullying and (f) are happy that they are involved in decision-making on changes.

Patricia Hewitt: Data to answer these precise questions are not available. DTI however prides itself on a supportive and positive working environment. It has worked in partnership with its unions on more positive approaches to flexible working and long hours. It does not tolerate bullying. Our business plan, published in April, gives clarity on our objectives and everyone's personal objectives are related to this. All people in DTI are involved in decisions that affect them as far as possible.

Employment Rights(Information and Consultation)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce legislation on employee rights to information and consultation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We have had discussions with a wide range of groups and organisations, including the CBI and TUC, about how we implement the directive and will publish legislative proposals for consultation shortly.

EUREKA Programme

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual UK contribution has been, at constant prices, to the EU EUREKA programme since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: EUREKA is an independent programme to support industrially-led R and D. It includes 34 member countries in Europe and adjacent regions. The EU Commission is also a member.
	There is no central fund to support projects; each country provides support to its own participants at agreed rates. EUREKA can cover any industrially-relevant technology. It complements the EU Framework Programme and is implicated in the proposals for the European Research Area.
	The majority of projects fall within the policy responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The following table details the annual spend on EUREKA projects by the DTI. Separate figures before 1992–93 are unavailable.
	
		EUREKA projects expenditure -- £ million
		
			 Financial year Actual spend Spend at 2002–03 prices 
		
		
			 1985–1991/92 26.90 43.07 
			 1992–93 29.31 37.81 
			 1993–94 20.57 25.90 
			 1994–95 21.41 26.60 
			 1995–96 14.48 17.49 
			 1996–97 8.32 9.74 
			 1997–98 5.88 6.68 
			 1998–99 2.04 2.26 
			 1999–2000 1.99 2.15 
			 2000–01 2.32 2.45 
			 2001–02 1.90 1.96 
			 2002–03 2.74 2.74 
			 Total 37.86 178.84 
		
	
	The future of the EUREKA initiative in the UK will be covered in the imminent DTI Innovation Review.

Export Licences (Colombia)

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the applications for export licences for (a) armaments and (b) dual use equipment made by United Kingdom companies for export to Colombia in each of the past three years; and how many licences were (i) granted and (ii) refused.

Nigel Griffiths: The details of all relevant export licence applications issued and refused are published by destination in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls. Copies of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Annual Reports are available from the Libraries of the House.

Grants

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the grants made by her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible to (a) the John Innes Institute, (b) the BioIndustry Association, (d) Diatech, and (e) Floranova in each year since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: Since the start of the financial year 1997–98, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has committed a total of £30.7 million in research grants to the John Innes Centre. This figure includes responsive mode funding, initiative grants, equipment and research fellowships. In addition to these research grants, BBSRC also provides a core strategic grant on an annual basis to the John Innes Centre. Annual spend in the financial years 1997–98 to 2002–03 is shown in the following table.
	
		Spend on BBSRC grants to John Innes Centre 97/98 onwards, including responsive mode funding and Core Strategic Grant (CSG) -- £ million
		
			  Research grants CSG Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 2.4 9.6 12.0 
			 1998–99 2.7 9.8 12.5 
			 1999–2000 2.4 9.5 11.9 
			 2000–01 3.2 9.8 13.0 
			 2001–02 3.8 10.0 13.8 
			 2002–03 4.4 10.2 14.6 
		
	
	DTI has made the following payments to the BioIndustry Association in connection with a range of events and activities designed to promote the general capability of the biotechnology industrial sector.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1998 0.22 
			 1999 0.19 
			 2000 0.17 
			 2001 0.36 
			 2002 0.36 
			 2003 0.17 
		
	
	No grants have been made to Diatech or Floranova.

Insurance Contract Law

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is her policy to reform insurance contract law; and if she will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have no plans to reform insurance contract law at present.

Net Metering Arrangements

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to encourage net metering arrangements, with particular reference to the removal of market distortions.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The Government use the term "net metering" to describe commercial arrangements where a generator receives the same price for exported energy as he pays for imported energy. Offering net metering on this basis will result in a supplier incurring costs and, although at least one supplier has offered customers a limited net metering tariff, it is difficult to see how the economics of net metering could be sustained on a widespread basis.
	The Government are, however, anxious to ensure that small, locally connected, generators receive full and fair value for the energy they produce. To this end, changes to electricity market arrangements will be implemented this September which will allow energy exported by small distributed generation to be traded via the electricity settlement system for the first time. In addition, the Distributed Generation Co-ordinating Group, jointly established by the DTI and Ofgem to address barriers associated with the connection and operation of small-distributed generation, has initiated work to identify metering and settlement arrangements which will ensure that small generators are fairly recompensed for exported energy.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bids Advantage West Midland received from the North Staffordshire Partnership in respect of an Urban Regeneration Company for North Staffordshire; and what the outcome of each bid was.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has not received any formal proposals from any body operating in North Staffordshire with respect to an Urban Regeneration Company.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Objective Two and Three European funding Advantage West Midlands (a) has secured and (b) anticipates it will raise in 2003–04; and how much it plans to spend on projects in North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands is not directly responsible for Objective 2 investment in the sub-region. Government Office for the West Midlands administers these programmes on behalf of the region. (a) There are no Objective 3 offers to AWM. Objective 2 offers made to AWM are worth £86.84 million (ERDF and ESF combined). There are £15.85 million worth of bids currently under appraisal. (b) It is impossible to tell what level of ERDF and ESF AWM might secure in 2003–04 since this is dependent on the number of bidding rounds available and how many successful applications AWM achieve. Regarding spend in North Staffordshire, again this is impossible to say as the majority of the resources available to AWM are under an Action Plan which any of the sub regions can bid into.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Advantage West Midland estimated grant-in-aid spending will be in 2003–04; and how much will be spent on projects in North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Estimated grant-in-aid for 2003–04 is £260 million, £18 million of which is indicatively allocated to North Staffordshire through the existing SRB programmes and the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress Advantage West Midlands has made in setting up a company to manage the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone under the North Staffordshire Partnership Zone Implementation Plan.

Jacqui Smith: The corporate governance structure for the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone is developing in line with other Regeneration Zones across the region. The North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone has established a Shadow Board chaired by the private sector; has an interim manager and is about to recruit a permanent secretariat to deliver the programme over the next 10 years.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the causes are of the delay in Advantage West Midlands (a) determining and (b) approving a delivery vehicle for regeneration within the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has not received a formal proposal for the establishment of an Urban Regeneration Company. However discussions are ongoing with stakeholders to determine the potential for such an arrangement.
	The corporate governance structure for the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone is developing in line with other Regeneration Zones across the region and the interim arrangements as described above are already in place.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which delivery vehicles for regeneration are being considered by Advantage West Midlands within the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone.

Jacqui Smith: Work has been commissioned by Advantage West Midlands, with agreement by local stakeholders, to scope the potential form and function of a special purpose vehicle to deliver physical investment in the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone. Local consultation is taking place initially to be followed up with detailed dialogue with ODPM during August/September. Early indications suggest that a radical solution is required more in line with the approach taken by Government in the Thames Gateway rather than the traditional Urban Regeneration Company adopted elsewhere in the region.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons Advantage West Midlands has not approved an Urban Regeneration Company for North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has not received any formal proposals from any body operating in North Staffordshire with respect to an Urban Regeneration Company.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when bids were first received by Advantage West Midlands for an Urban Regeneration Company from (a) Sandwell, (b) North Staffordshire, (c) Walsall and (d) other districts, boroughs and sub-regions in the West Midlands.

Jacqui Smith: Formal submissions were received from Sandwell and Walsall in April 2001. Advantage West Midlands has not received any other formal proposals with respect to an Urban Regeneration Company.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what progress Advantage West Midlands has made in appointing a clerical assistant for the Secretariat of the company to manage the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone;
	(2)  what progress Advantage West Midlands has made in the establishment of a finance and monitoring officer by Stoke-on-Trent Partnership for the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone;
	(3)  what progress Advantage West Midlands has made in the appointment of (a) a regeneration zone manager and (b) the four pillar managers for North Staffordshire under the North Staffordshire Partnership Zone Implementation Plan.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has allocated a secretariat budget for the Zone and to date, an Interim Regeneration Zone Manager has been put in place through the North Staffordshire Partnership, employed by Stoke on Trent City Council.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  which consultants have been used by (a) Advantage West Midlands and (b) the North Staffordshire Partnership to advise on regeneration in North Staffordshire; how much they were paid; and when;
	(2)  what the role of KPMG is in advising Advantage West Midlands on regeneration in North Staffordshire; when the firm was appointed; and how much it will be paid.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands commissioned KPMG in May 2003 to work with stakeholders ,and the day to day management responsibility for the consultancy contract with KPMG lies with Stoke on Trent city council. Details of the contractual arrangements are commercial in confidence.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons Advantage West Midlands did not notify local hon. Members of the meetings on 2 and 3 June to discuss the progress of regeneration in North Staffordshire; which priority projects were discussed at these meetings; and how these projects relate to the Zone Implementation Plan of the North Staffordshire Partnership.

Jacqui Smith: The arrangements for the Stakeholders event on 2 and 3 June were determined by local partners from the public sector. The objectives for the day were to discuss and review local regeneration activity that lies within the statutory responsibility of public sector bodies and the local strategic partnerships.
	Greater dialogue will now take place directly between Advantage West Midlands and local Members of Parliament in the next stage of discussions, which relate to national policy.
	A report outlining the key outcomes of the event will be available from AWM from 2 July.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry with which aspects of the North Staffordshire Partnership Zone Implementation Plan Advantage Waste Midlands plans to proceed.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has approved the Zone Implementation Plan for 2003–04. However this is currently being updated by the Regional Zone Partnership to reflect recent developments. Delivery of the Plan will be the responsibility of the Zone Partnership.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Advantage West Midlands has allocated to the West Midlands Region under (a) SRB4, (b) SRB5 and (c) SRB6; and how much is being applied under each single regeneration budget round to (i) Stoke-on-Trent, (ii) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (iii) Staffordshire Moorlands and (iv) Stafford.

Jacqui Smith: SRB allocations for 2003–4 are as follows:
	SRB 4 Total Allocation to the West Midlands is £8 million of which £1.87 million is allocated to Stoke SRB 4. There were no SRB 4 allocations to other areas in the sub-region.
	SRB 5 Total Allocation to the West Midlands was £19 million of which £4.4 million was allocated to Stoke SRB 5; £0.9 million was allocated to SRB 5 in North East Staffordshire.
	SRB 6 Total Allocation to the West Midlands was £24 million of which £4.8 million was allocated to Stoke SRB 6 and £1.3 million to SRB 6 in Stafford.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information Advantage West Midlands has received on the number of officials and staff Stoke-on-Trent city council employs on projects under (a) SRB4, (b) SRB5 and (c) SRB6.

Jacqui Smith: The delivery arrangements for the SRB programmes are detailed in the delivery plans for each of the schemes, which are available to the public through the local partnership.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information Advantage West Midlands has received on the number of projects under way or planned by Stoke-on-Trent city council under (a) SRB4, (b) SRB5 and (c) SRB6; and if she will list the (i) cost, (ii) start date and (iii) expected finish date of each project.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has signed off the Delivery Plans for the SRB 4, 5 and 6 for 2003–04.
	Advantage West Midlands does not have detailed lists of individual projects planned, as the SRB is a delegated programme. Information on these is available in the public domain from the partnership delivery plans.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the role is of Mr. Jim Beeston of Heartlands in advising Advantage West Midlands on regeneration in North Staffordshire; what advice he has provided; and when his advice will be finalised.

Jacqui Smith: Jim Beeston is now a Director of Invigour Consulting, who has been commissioned by Advantage West Midlands with agreement by local stakeholders to scope the potential form and function of a special purpose vehicle to deliver physical investment in the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone. Local consultation is taking place initially to be followed up with detailed dialogue with Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during August and September 2003. Invigour will report back to the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone and North Staffordshire Housing Market Renewal Board during July and August 2003.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the awards of grant in-aid under the skills development and rapid response category that have been made to North Staffordshire by Advantage West Midlands in the last three financial years; and the amount of each award.

Jacqui Smith: The Department of Work and Pensions is responsible for the administration of the Rapid Response Fund.
	Skills Development Funding to North Staffordshire over the last three financial years amounts to £6.83 million.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions Advantage West Midlands has had with RIBA over an urban design vision for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands is aware of on-going discussions taking place between local partners regarding an urban design vision for Stoke-on-Trent. Advantage West Midlands has not had any direct discussions with RIBA on this issue outside of general partnership meetings.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how Advantage West Midlands intends to incorporate the Housing Pathfinder programme in its most appropriate delivery vehicle for regeneration in North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands is working closely with the Housing Market Renewal Board to put in place joint delivery arrangements for regeneration in North Staffordshire. Several discussions have taken place at the Housing Market Renewal Board. However no decision has yet been made on firm delivery proposals.
	Advantage West Midlands is not responsible for the Housing Pathfinder Programme but it is its intention to integrate its activities fully with it where possible to maximize resources and avoid duplication.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support Advantage West Midlands has given to the North Staffordshire Urban Design Forum.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has supported the development of the North Staffordshire Design Initiative through their Business Growth Fund. There has been no specific support for the Urban Design Forum to date, although proposals are being put forward through the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what submissions Advantage West Midlands has received (a) directly and (b) via the North Staffordshire Partnership in respect of (i) funding and (ii) other assistance for the (A) North Staffordshire Urban Design Forum, (B) an urban design vision for North Staffordshire and (C) a proposed new architecture centre for North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Both Advantage West Midlands and North Staffordshire Partnership have received the same proposal from the North Staffordshire Urban Design Forum. In practice, the proposal will be channelled through the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone for consideration and possible support.
	The North Staffordshire Urban Design Forum proposal requests funding of £48,733 in 2002–03, £154,289 in 2003–04 and £179,834 in 2004–05, a total of £382,856 over this three-year period.
	The development of an Urban Design vision for North Staffordshire and an architecture centre are included as part of the urban design activities in the proposal.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions Advantage West Midlands has had with Stoke-on-Trent city council in respect of the future of Stoke's current partnerships with the St. Modwen property company in the context of the regeneration of North Staffordshire.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has had no specific discussions with Stoke-on-Trent city council in respect of the future of Stoke's current partnerships with the St. Modwen property company in the context of the regeneration of North Staffordshire.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Advantage West Midlands has spent on the staffing and administration of the North Staffordshire Partnership in the last three years; and how much is anticipated in the current year.

Jacqui Smith: Advantage West Midlands has spent the following on the staffing and administration of the North Staffordshire Partnership.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 33,190 
			 2002–03 76,965 
		
	
	Estimated contribution for 2003–04 is £135,000.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the total amount of grants received by Advantage West Midlands in the region from the European Regional Development Fund in each financial year since the RDA's inception; and of that how much has been spent in each year in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (c) Staffordshire Moorlands and (d) Stafford.

Jacqui Smith: The total amount of grant received by Advantage West Midlands from the European Regional Development Funds during each financial year since 1 April 1999 was:
	
		
			 Financial period Amount of grant claimed and paid (£) 
		
		
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 1,258,727 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 942,643 
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 2,032,160 
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 3,073,058 
			 1 April 2003 to 30 June 2003 (to date) 259,002 
		
	
	It is not possible to say how much European Regional Development grant has been spent in each year in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (c) Staffordshire Moorlands and (d) Stafford, as the majority of the projects for which Advantage West Midlands received European Regional Development Fund grant were cross-regional projects and the grant expenditure claimed in respect of those projects was not broken down by sub-region.

Regeneration (Staffordshire)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the total amount of grant-in-aid utilised by Advantage West Midlands in the region under the heading applied to income and expenditure in each financial year since its inception; and of that how much has been spent in each year in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (c) Staffordshire Moorlands and (d) Stafford.

Jacqui Smith: Expenditure is as follows:
	
		Grant-in-aid utilised by Advantage West Midlands -- £ million
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Totals 
		
		
			 AWM GiA utilised 105 110 123 205 543 
			   
			 Spend:  
			 Stoke-on-Trent 11.198 9.603 14.109 13.298 48.208 
			 Stafford 0.096 0.013 0.424 1.003 1.536 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 2.16 1.078 3.257 1.593 8.088 
			 Staffs Moorlands 0.212 0.378 1.573 2.409 4.572 
			 North Staffs Regeneration Zone 0.018 0.052 0.379 1.648 2.097 
			  13.684 11.124 19.742 19.951 64.501 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are estimates only.

Senior Departmental Posts

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many senior departmental posts were advertised in each year since June 1999; and how many of those were advertised in the Scottish press.

Patricia Hewitt: The following DTI senior civil service posts have been advertised since June 1999:
	June 1999 to March 2000—6
	April 2000 to March 2001—7
	April 2001 to March 2002—9
	April 2002 to March 2003—11
	April 2003 to June 2003—4
	All of these were advertised in the UK national press. But none was specifically advertised in the Scottish press.

University Departments

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had on the effect on regional economies of Government proposals to create a number of departments in universities; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: World-class research is central to improved productivity and quality of life. The last spending review provided substantial extra expenditure for research, including even more investment for the very best researchers wherever they are.
	The Department will continue to work closely with the Department for Education and Skills and Regional Development Agencies in ensuring the long-term success of all our universities, whether they have research intensive departments or not, for the benefit of both the national and regional economies.

Working Time Directive

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance she is providing to the road haulage industry to ensure the implementation of the Working Time Directorate; and what discussions she has had with the Road Haulage Association on the implementation of the Directorate.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have consulted both sides of the road transport industry (including the Road Haulage Association) on the transposition of the Horizontal Amending Directive (2000/15/EC) and the sector specific Road Transport Directive (2002/15/EC) into domestic legislation. The main impact of the Horizontal Amending Directive, which comes into force on 1 August 2003, will be on non-mobile workers in the road transport sector, and DTI will shortly publish a revised set of guidance notes on the new directive.
	The Road Transport Directive is more significant for mobile workers in the road haulage industry and needs to be implemented by 23 March 2005. We will shortly publish a consultation document on our proposals for implementing this directive.
	My officials are helping the industry to prepare for the introduction of these Directives by participating in seminars on the subject.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Work/Life Balance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Minister for Women what measures have been put in place for women to achieve a better work-life balance.

Patricia Hewitt: We are committed to giving women—and men—the chance to improve their work life balance. We have increased maternity pay and leave, introduced paid paternity leave, extended these rights to adoptive parents, and introduced a legal right for parents of children under six and disabled children under 18 to request to work flexibly.

Work/Life Balance

David Amess: To ask the Minister for Women what measures are in place for women to achieve a better work-life balance.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling).

Pensions (Payments Overseas)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the ability of married women retiring to South Africa, Canada and Australia to claim the index-linked element of the state pension.

Jacqui Smith: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Women has had one discussion with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on issues relating to women and pensions this year. However they have not discussed the specific issue of indexation of pensions for women retiring to South Africa, Canada and Australia.

Iraq

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister for Women what plans she has to visit Iraq.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 2 July 2003
	I intend to visit Iraq to support the involvement of Iraqi women in the democratic process, and support British businesses who can offer a great deal of expertise and experience in redevelopment work. I am taking advice on the appropriate time to do so.

SCOTLAND

Holyrood Site

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what the cost was of acquiring and preparing the Holyrood site; and when and by whom this cost was incurred;
	(2)  who originally suggested the Holyrood site as an option for the new Scottish Parliament building; and when that suggestion was made;
	(3)  when the final decision was made to choose the Holyrood site as the place for the new Scottish Parliament building;
	(4)  what the scheduled opening date for the Scottish Parliament building was immediately prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body;
	(5)  whether the communications from Langdon's in respect of the Scottish Parliament building have been published;
	(6)  what the estimate for the Scottish Parliament building was when the final site was chosen; and when this matter was considered prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body;
	(7)  what representations were received by the Secretary of State for Scotland in advance of the Scottish parliamentary building project being transferred to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body.

Alistair Darling: The First Minister has announced that he is establishing an investigation by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie and the Auditor General for Scotland, which intends to look at all aspects of the Holyrood project. I foresee no difficulty in Lord Fraser gaining access to all relevant Government papers. Indeed, I understand the Auditor General for Scotland saw Government papers connected with the Holyrood project before devolution when carrying out a previous inquiry.

Air Transport Consultation

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he will take to represent Scottish national interest in the Air Transport consultation.

Alistair Darling: The UK Air Services consultation included a consultation on the issues for Scotland, which was jointly organised by the Department for Transport and the Scottish Executive.
	Responses to that consultation will be taken into account in determining the content of the forthcoming White Paper.

EU Regulations

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by his Department over each of the last five years.

Alistair Darling: No regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by my Department since its creation in 1999.

Euro Roadshow

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the events he plans to attend as part of the Government's Euro roadshow.

Alistair Darling: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) on Friday 20 June 2003, Official Report, column 459W.

Friends of Scotland Initiative

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  whether the Department was consulted on the implications for embassies abroad of the transfer of the Friends of Scotland initiative to the Scottish Executive;
	(2)  what discussions he had with the Scottish Executive prior to transferring the Friends of Scotland initiative to the Scottish Executive.

Alistair Darling: I discussed with the First Minister the opportunity for further developing the Friends of Scotland project and building on its success in recruiting support for the promotion of Scotland overseas. We agreed that the time was now right for the Scottish Executive to take on the leadership of the project, alongside the Executive's other overseas promotion programmes and taking full account of the contribution which the United Kingdom's posts overseas can play.

Friends of Scotland Initiative

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total cost has been of Friends of Scotland.

Alistair Darling: The costs of the Friends of Scotland project to date, excluding staff costs and departmental overheads, amount to £326,000 (£123,000 in 2001–02; £187,000 in 2002–03 and £16,000 to 25 June).
	The hon. Member will be aware that this project has now been transferred to the Scottish Executive.

Hallmarks

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations she has received on (a) the future of the Scottish hallmark and (b) its importance to Scottish industry; and if she will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: I am aware of the representations being made by the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh about the future of Scotland's Assay Office and my hon. Friend's recent adjournment debate on this subject. The importance of a distinct Scottish Hallmark is indisputable, and my predecessor wrote to the Minister for Competition, Consumers and Markets to express her own concerns on this matter. I have also received a letter from a Member of Parliament on this subject.

International Flights

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  when he last discussed the promotion of Scottish direct international flights with the Department for Transport;
	(2)  what his policy is towards promotion of direct international flights from Scotland's airports.

Alistair Darling: I recognise the importance of developing new direct flight connections into Scotland and have discussed this with the Scottish Executive.
	Responsibility for furthering economic development lies with the Scottish Executive, which has recently established a Route Development Fund to support introduction of new routes.

Job Dispersal

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  if she will list the public sector jobs which have been dispersed to Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by Department or agency and from whence they came;
	(2)  if she will list the central Government Departments and agencies with which she is in contact to pursue the possibility of job dispersal to Scotland from elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Alistair Darling: There is no central register of the location of Government jobs. However, several Government Departments have a significant presence in Scotland, notably the Department for Work and Pensions who currently have 15,076 employees in Scotland, the Ministry of Defence (7,115), the Inland Revenue (8,500), the Department for International Development (515), and the Department for Trade and Industry (254).
	In his 2003 Budget statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that, as part of the preparations for the next Comprehensive Spending Review, he had asked Sir Michael Lyons to lead a study into the scope for relocating public service staff from London and the South East to other parts of the UK. The study is still at an early stage in collecting and evaluating information from Government Departments on their operations.

Scotland Office Address

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his London office address is.

Alistair Darling: Dover House, Whitehall, SW1A 2AU.

Sewel Motions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list Sewel motions passed by the Scottish Parliament since May 1999 that apply to his Department's responsibilities and legislation he has sponsored.

Alistair Darling: 42 Sewel motions have been passed by the Scottish Parliament since May 1999. The following full list outlines those Bills that have been the subject of more than one Sewel motion.
	
		Table of Sewel motions
		
			 Number Bill Sewel motion approved 
		
		
			 1 Food Standards 23 June 1999 
			 2 Financial Services and Markets 23 June 1999 
			 3 Electronic Communications 23 June 1999 
			 4 Limited Liability Partnerships 23 June 1999 
			 5 Sea Fishing Grants (Charges) 8 December 1999 
			 6 Representation of the People 13 January 2000 
			 7 Sexual Offences (Amendment) 19 January 2000 
			 8 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums (1) 9 March 2000 
			 9 Regulation of Investigatory Powers 6 April 2000 
			 10 Learning and Skills 18 May 2000 
			 11 Race Relations (Amendment) 25 May 2000 
			 12 Insolvency 1 June 2000 
			 13 Care Standards 22 June 2000 
			 14 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums (2) 6 July 2000 
			 15 Government Resources and Accounts 6 July 2000 
			 16 Criminal Justice and Courts Service 5 October 2000 
			 17 Health and Social Care Modernisation 17 January 2001 
			 18 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion 17 January 2001 
			 19 International Criminal Court 18 January 2001 
			 20 Outworking 31 January 2001 
			 21 Criminal Justice and Police 7 February 2001 
			 22 International Development 8 March 2001 
			 23 Culture and Recreation 8 March 2001 
			 24 Armed Forces 29 March 2001 
			 25 Adoption and Children (1) 4 April 2001 
			 26 Adoption and Children (2) 24 October 2001 
			 27 Proceeds of Crime 24 October 2001 
			 28 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security 15 November 2001 
			 29 NHS Reform and Health Care Profession 22 November 2001 
			 30 Adoption and Children (3) 30 January 2002 
			 31 Police Reform 30 January 2002 
			 32 Enterprise 17 April 2002 
			 33 Private Hire Vehicles (Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.) 19 June 2002 
			 34 Police Reform (2) 27 June 2002 
			 35 Extradition 21 November 2002 
			 36 Waste and Emissions Trading 28 November 2002 
			 37 Criminal Justice 5 December 2002 
			 38 Crime (International Cooperation) 5 December 2002 
			 39 Local Government 6 February 2003 
			 40 Sexual Offences 20 March 2003 
			 41 Railways and Transport Safety 20 March 2003 
			 42 Fireworks 26 June 2003

Sunset Clauses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause.

Alistair Darling: The revised RIA guidance, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment", was published on 28 January. It advises policy officials to consider time limiting or sunsetting at an early stage of policy development and gives specific examples of where sunsetting may be appropriate.
	The Scotland Office supports the better regulation agenda and the use of sunsetting where appropriate.

Trade Links

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the role of (a) the Secretary of State and (b) the Scottish Executive in developing trade links for Scottish business.

Alistair Darling: Trade Partners UK is the lead Government organisation for helping companies based in the UK (including those in Scotland) achieve their export potential. Responsibility for the development of trade links for Scottish business lies with Scottish Development International, which is jointly operated by the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he plans to take to extend educational opportunities for sufferers of autistic spectrum disorders.

Charles Clarke: My Department is doing a number of things to extend the educational opportunities for sufferers of autistic spectrum disorders. We are developing a Special Educational Needs Action Programme for publication in the autumn with the aim of helping all children with special educational needs to realise their potential. Among other initiatives it will promote effective approaches to teaching and learning for children with different types of need including autism.
	Work on improving opportunities for those with autistic spectrum disorders under the Action Programme will build on the principles set out in the guidance on making provision for children with the disorders which my Department published with the Department of Health last year.
	The Action Programme will also address obstacles that may be preventing young people with special educational needs continuing their education beyond 16. The Learning and Skills Council when carrying out its functions must have regard to the needs of people with learning difficulties, including those with autism, in part by enabling the provision of appropriate facilities for their education and training.

Child Care Standards

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements are in place for monitoring standards in childcare centres.

Margaret Hodge: All childcare facilities that provide day care for children under eight exceeding two hours a day on premises which are not domestic premises are registered and inspected by Ofsted against the requirements of the national standards. The national standards for under eights day care and childminding represent a minimum quality baseline below which no provider may fall.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will make an announcement on the new Education Maintenance Allowance scheme.

Ivan Lewis: We announced last July that we plan to make the Education Maintenance Allowance scheme available throughout England from September 2004 to those students who complete their compulsory education in the 2003/04 Academic Year. We will be making further details about the national scheme available soon.

Further Education Colleges (Student Satisfaction)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the percentage of learners who are satisfied with their learning experience in college.

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) carried out the first national survey of learner satisfaction and published the results in December 2002. These showed that 87 per cent. of learners were satisfied with their learning experience in college.
	Findings from the survey are being used to inform strategic national policy and the work of the local LSCs, colleges and other providers.

Gross Earnings

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have gross earnings of £2,000 per week or more; and what proportion of those with gross earnings of £2,000 per week or more have a Level 4 qualification or higher.

Alan Johnson: The Labour Force Survey estimates that the number of employees of working age in the UK with gross weekly earnings of £2,000 or more per week is 30,000. Three-quarters of these (76 per cent.) are qualified to Level 4 or above.

Higher Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he plans to publish a draft Higher Education Bill for consultation.

Alan Johnson: We have no plans to publish a higher education bill in draft. There has already been substantial consultation on the main policy issues for which we intend to legislate. We will be responding to comments received during the consultation period on the White Paper alongside our response to the Select Committee.

Higher Education

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the costs in each of the last three years were of (a) targeted grants and (b) tuition fees waivers for (i) students in higher education from Wales and (ii) students from elsewhere in the UK attending higher education institutions in Wales; and what the related administrative costs were;
	(2)  what the cost was in each of the last three years of means tested loans for (a) students in higher education from Wales and (b) students from elsewhere in the UK attending higher education institutions in Wales; and what the identifiable administrative costs were in each case.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 1 July 2003
	The information is as follows: (a) Expenditure on higher education students domiciled in Wales:
	
		£ million
		
			  Financial year 
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Income Contingent Repayment Loans (RAB cost) 38.6 48.8 (15)53.5 
			 Means tested contributions to tuition fees 19.5 23.7 (15)25.8  
			 Dependants Grants 3.8 5.2 (15)6.2  
			 HE Supplementary Grants 1.9 (15)2.6 (16)3.4  
		
	
	(15) Provisional
	(16) Estimated
	Sources:
	HE Supplementary Grants—DfES
	All other data—Student Loans Company.
	Loan costs are for income contingent loans only. These loans, of which approximately one quarter of the value is means tested, are repayable on an income contingent basis. Loans made under the previous mortgage style arrangement, which are not means tested, are excluded from the table.
	Expenditure on loans is shown in resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) terms, not cash terms.
	Dependants grants includes payments on Childcare Grant, Additional Dependants Grant, Travel, Books and Equipment Grant, Loan Parents Grant and Child Dependants Grant.
	HE supplementary grants include payments on Disabled Students Allowance, School Meals Grant, Care Leaver's Grant and Travel Grant.
	Expenditure on hardship and part-time loans is excluded from the table.
	(b) The cost for students from elsewhere in the UK attending higher education institutions in Wales could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	It is not possible to identify the administrative costs of payments under (a) or (b) above.

Modern Language Courses

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 644W, on modern languages courses, which modern languages he is requiring all maintained secondary schools to continue to make available.

David Miliband: Through our Green Paper "14–19: extending opportunities, raising standards" we consulted extensively on our proposals to create more choice and flexibility at Key Stage 4. The responses to the consultation endorsed our view that schools should no longer be required to teach modern foreign languages to all pupils but that schools should be required to ensure that any pupil wishing to study modern foreign languages should be able to do so. We propose that this entitlement should reflect the current situation in Key Stage 4, so that schools can meet the entitlement by providing access to courses that include the study of one or more of the official languages of the European Union.
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority are currently consulting on the detailed proposals for the implementation of curriculum changes at Key Stage 4.

Overseas Students (Further Education Colleges)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many overseas students are learning in UK further education colleges; and what target was set in 1999.

Melanie Johnson: Latest figures for 2001/02 show there were 47,786 non-European Union international students and 13,100 European Union students in UK further education colleges. In 1999 a target was set to attract an extra 25,000 non-European Union international students to UK further education colleges by 2005 compared to the base year of 1996/97 (25,102).

Qualification Levels

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) vocational and (b) academic Level 3 qualifications were awarded in (i) colleges and (ii) schools in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: The table shows the numbers and proportions of vocational and academic awards at Level 3, by centre type during the 2001/02 academic year. The data are taken from the National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ) 1 and the Secondary School and College Performance Tables Database. Awards coverage is for England only.
	1 NISVQ has full coverage of NVQs awarded plus VRQs from three of the largest awarding bodies and other VQs from seven of the largest awarding bodies.
	
		Numbers and proportions of vocational and academic awards at Level 3, 2001/02
		
			  Vocational Academic 
			 Centre type Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 School 3,282 2 206,446 64 
			 Further education college/tertiary college(17) 92,258 59 53,311 17 
			 Sixth form college 2,638 2 61,078 19 
			 Other(18) 57,599 37 17 0 
			 Total 155,778 — 320,852 — 
		
	
	(17) Includes adult education data.
	(18) Institutes classified as 'other' include: university or other higher education centre, private training provider, local government/central Government/NHS, employer, HM Prison/Youth Offenders Institution and armed forces.
	Source:
	NISVQ and Secondary School and College Performance Tables Database.

Qualification Levels

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of people earning £800 or more per week have level 4 qualifications.

Alan Johnson: The Labour Force Survey estimates that two-thirds (67 per cent.) of employees of working age in the UK with gross weekly earnings of £800 or more have a level 4 qualification or above.

Senior Departmental Posts

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many senior departmental posts were advertised in each year since 1999; and how many of those were advertised in the Scottish Press.

Charles Clarke: The number of Senior Civil Service posts advertised by my Department since June 1999 are as follows:
	
		
			  Posts 
		
		
			 April 2002 to March 2003 12 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 6 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 16 
			 June 1999 to March 2000 8 
		
	
	None of these were advertised in the Scottish Press, though where search consultants were used, they considered candidates across the UK.

Sixth-Form Provision

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the likely impact of sixth form education provision by the exclusive means of sixth form colleges on standards of attainment in secondary schools at (a) Key Stage 4 and (b) GCSE level.

Alan Johnson: 2002 results for non-selective maintained secondary schools at GCSE/GNVQ (KS4) are as follows:
	
		Percentage
		
			  Gaining five or more A*-C grades 
		
		
			 Schools with sixth form 51.0 
			 Schools without sixth form 44.6 
		
	
	However, when prior attainment is taken into account, there is little difference between schools with and without sixth form education provision.

Student Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact on university applications from students in the London borough of Havering of the introduction of tuition fees.

Alan Johnson: The latest available information, showing the proportion of 18-year-olds who applied for entry to HE, are shown in the table. The figures show that the fall in the proportion of students applying from Havering in 2002 was not reflected nationally.
	
		18-year-old applicants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK
		
			  Year of entry: 
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Students from Havering
			 Applicants 579 629 563 587 577 635 503 
			 Population 2,647 2,948 2,993 2,823 2,769 2,758 2,756 
			 Percentage applying 21.9 21.3 18.8 20.8 20.8 23.0 18.3 
			 All students from the UK
			 Applicants 167,792 182,723 185,747 181,782 180,385 186,364 188,325 
			 Population 667,593 726,736 747,354 741,836 727,022 735,605 737,343 
			 Percentage applying 25.1 25.1 24.9 24.5 24.8 25.3 25.5 
		
	
	Source:
	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

Student Finance

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he last discussed with the Secretary of State for Scotland his plans to introduce top-up fees in England and Wales (a) before 12 June 2003 and (b) since 12 June 2003.

Alan Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on this issue.

Student Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many individual students he estimates will receive the full £1,000 maintenance grant when it is introduced in 2005–06.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 30 June 2003
	I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 357W.

Student Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the level of Government subsidy that will be required to service the Government's higher education proposals for 2005–06 onwards.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The publicly planned expenditure for higher education in England in 2005–06 is set out in "The future of higher education" Cmd 5735. Assessments of the costs of meeting the Government's policies for higher education beyond 2005–06 will be made as part of the 2004 Spending Review, work on which will commence shortly.

Student Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the level of default on loans repayable to the student loans company was in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and if he will express the amount as a percentage of the total amount repaid.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The answer covers only mortgage style loans in public ownership because these are repayable to the Student Loans Company. Income contingent loans are collected through the tax system. At the end of financial year 2001–02 the Student Loans Company had collected 85.5 per cent. of the amount recoverable since the scheme began. The amount recovered was £707 million against a recoverable amount of £827 million, leaving some £120 million overdue. The recoverable amount excludes early repayments, deferred repayment of loans and loans where liability to repay has been cancelled.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of total income-contingent student loans outstanding he expects to be repaid, taking into account (a) deaths, (b) defaults, (c) write-offs on account of age, (d) moves abroad and (e) deferments owing to inadequate income.

Alan Johnson: For reasons of commercial confidentiality information on the percentage resource cost of student loans, and by implication the amount expected to be repaid or written off, is exempt from publication.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if it is his policy that students who drop out of their courses should be required to pay a proportion of any approved top-up fee levied by their higher education institution.

Alan Johnson: The Government has no plans to prescribe the proportion of tuition fees to be paid by students who drop out of their courses when variable fees are introduced. At present, UUK and SCOP issue joint guidance covering the treatment of private contributions to fees when students withdraw from courses under the current system. Fees for such students are charged at the discretion of the institution concerned, taking account of the guidance, which states that these students should pay fees pro rata to their attendance.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average net present value is per £1,000 of existing student loan, taking into account deferments and the zero real interest rate.

Alan Johnson: For reasons of commercial confidentiality, information on the percentage resource cost of student loans, and by implication the net present value of £1,000 of loans issued, is exempt from publication.

Student Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of students are (a) eligible for education maintenance allowance and (b) claiming educational maintenance allowance, broken down by (a) private and (b) maintained sector status, in (A) each local education authority and (B) England.

Ivan Lewis: The following table gives a breakdown, by local education authority, of the estimate of the number of students who are in further education and the percentage of those who are claiming Education Maintenance Allowance in the pilot schemes. The estimates of the number of students in further education are based on figures taken from the 1991 population census. Local education authorities do not collect information on how these figures are distributed between private and maintained sector status institutions.
	
		
			 Local education authority Estimate of number of eligible students in Further Education Number of students who have received EMA Percentage of students who have received EMA 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,500 952 63.5 
			 Barnsley 2,200 1,479 67.2 
			 Birmingham 14,700 10,277 69.9 
			 Bolton 3,600 2,230 61.9 
			 Bradford 5,900 4,850 82.2 
			 Brent 2,600 1,813 69.7 
			 Camden 1,400 1,252 89.4 
			 Cornwall 6,800 5,677 83.5 
			 Coventry 4,400 2,386 54.2 
			 Doncaster 3,500 2,543 72.7 
			 Ealing 2,800 1,649 58.9 
			 Gateshead 2,300 1,835 79.8 
			 Greenwich 2,000 1,366 68.3 
			 Hackney 2,000 1,977 98.9 
			 Halton 1,400 1,081 77.2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,200 829 69.1 
			 Haringey 2,000 1,579 78.9 
			 Hartlepool 1,000 816 81.6 
			 Islington 1,500 1,309 87.3 
			 Kingston upon Hull 2,400 1,922 80.1 
			 Knowsley 2,000 1,913 95.7 
			 Lambeth 2,300 1,737 75.5 
			 Lancashire (East) 5,100 2,466 48.4 
			 Leeds 8,500 4,857 57.1 
			 Leicester 4,400 3,259 74.1 
			 Lewisham 2,200 1,805 82.0 
			 Lincolnshire (N.E.) 2,200 1,405 63.9 
			 Liverpool 6,200 3,587 57.9 
			 Luton 2,700 1,581 58.6 
			 Manchester 6,300 4,456 70.7 
			 Middlesbrough 1,900 1,578 83.1 
			 Newham 2,700 2,589 95.9 
			 North Tyneside 2,500 1,595 63.8 
			 Northumberland 4,200 2,643 62.9 
			 Nottingham 3,300 2,791 84.6 
			 Oldham 3,000 2,624 87.5 
			 Salford 1,800 1,127 62.6 
			 Sandwell 2,500 2,041 81.6 
			 Sheffield 5,600 3,716 66.4 
			 Southampton 2,500 1,392 55.7 
			 Southwark 1,900 1,467 77.2 
			 South Tyneside 2,000 1,666 83.3 
			 St. Helens 2,200 1,465 66.6 
			 Stoke on Trent 2,600 2,607 100.1 
			 Suffolk 6,800 2,617 38.5 
			 Sunderland 3,500 2,260 64.6 
			 Tameside 2,800 2,026 72.4 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,200 2,765 125.7 
			 Wakefield 4,300 2,201 51.2 
			 Walsall 3,200 2,649 82.8 
			 Waltham Forest 2,200 1,577 71.7 
			 Wandsworth 1,700 1,013 59.6 
			 Wigan 3,700 2,546 68.8 
			 Wirral 4,100 2,540 61.9 
			 Wolverhampton 3,200 2,359 73.7 
			 Worcestershire 5,800 3,040 52.4 
			 England total 189,300 131,782 (19)69.6  
		
	
	(19) Average
	Notes:
	Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is currently paid to young people who reside in one of the pilot areas, irrespective of the location of the institution they attend. We only have estimated figures for the number of young people living in each local education authority (LEA) area who participate in further education. In some areas, particularly those where there has been rapid population movements, the estimates carry some degree of uncertainty; therefore there are some anomalies in the right hand column.

Top-up Fees

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has carried out on the effect of top-up fees on (a) existing and (b) future veterinary students.

Alan Johnson: The proposals for variable deferred fees will not affect existing veterinary students—we plan from 2006/07 to allow higher education institutions to charge variable fees to new students, between £0 and £3,000 per year per course. It will be for institutions themselves to decide at what level to set their fees. Institutions will be able to raise their fees only if they have an access agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access. All students, including veterinary students, will be able to defer payment of their fee until after their graduation, if they choose to do so. Graduates will repay the loan at a zero real rate of interest, with repayments linked to earnings, once they are earning above the £15,000 repayment threshold.
	We do not control the supply or number of training places for veterinary students. The only disciplines for which we plan in this way are teachers, doctors and dentists.

Training and Skills Councils

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to whom complaints of maladministration against local training and skills councils should be addressed.

Alan Johnson: Complaints about the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) should be made to the Council's solicitor at the LSC National Office at Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT.

Tuition Fees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of university students from England paid the full amount of tuition fees for the academic year 2002/03.

Alan Johnson: Student support data on the percentage of students making a contribution towards the cost of their tuition are collected from local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales through a voluntary retrospective survey.
	Provisional data for academic year 2001/02, the latest available, show that 41 per cent. of higher education students eligible to be assessed for student support in England and Wales were liable to pay the full contribution towards the cost of their tuition.
	Latest England only data are available for academic year 2000/01. Final, England only, data for academic year 2001/02 will be available later in the year. First provisional results for academic year 2002/03 will be published in the Department's Statistical First Release in the Spring of 2004.

University Students

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the university population of students in 2010 will be on the assumption of 50 per cent. participation by those in the age group 18 to 30 years.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 24 June 2003
	For any given percentage of participation, the university population on a full-time equivalent basis will depend on a number of factors, such as:
	(i) the length of course studied—a higher proportion of students studying shorter courses (e.g. two year Foundation Degrees) would result in lower overall student numbers;
	(ii) the mix between full-time and part-time student numbers; and
	(iii) the participation rate of those groups of students not included in the initial entry rate measure—e.g. students over 30, European Union students and postgraduates
	In addition, in projecting forwards, account has also to be taken of the impact of demographic trends.
	Student numbers have been projected ahead for the 2002 spending review period, which covers the three years to 2005–06. The projected number of UK and EU domiciled students attending English universities from 2003–04 to 2005–06, as set out in the Secretary of State's Grant Letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England, is as follows:
	
		Fundable full-time equivalents (FTEs) in English(20) institutions
		
			 Financial year FTEs (Thousand) 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,115 
			 2004–05 1,134 
			 2005–06 1,157 
		
	
	(20) DfES fundable higher education students on prescribed courses in institution of further and higher education.

University Students

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many university students in England studied as (a) full-time and (b) part-time in each year from 1996–97 to 2002–03.

Alan Johnson: The latest available figures for undergraduate students are shown in the table. Comparable data for 2002/03 will be available in December.
	
		UK domiciled students on undergraduate courses in England(21)
		
			 Academic year Full-time Part-time Total 
		
		
			 1996/97 747,535 461,987 1,209,522 
			 1997/98 762,027 451,508 1,213,535 
			 1998/99 771,673 458,830 1,230,503 
			 1999/2000 768,001 465,797 1,233,798 
			 2000/01 774,353 488,469 1,262,822 
			 2001/02 796,215 499,777 1,295,992 
		
	
	(21) Based on a census count of students as at 1 December. Covers all UK domiciled students on undergraduate courses in HE institutions, FE colleges and the Open University. Undergraduate courses include all first degree, HMD, HNC, and other sub-degree courses.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Vocational Education and Training

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what percentage of provision of vocational education and training for young people was provided by colleges in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many 16 to19-year olds studied for vocational qualifications in (a) further education, (b) sixth form colleges and (c) other schools in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: The numbers and percentages of 16 to 18-year olds participating in vocational education and training, for end 2001 (provisional figures; as at end of calendar year), are set out in the table. The figures include people studying NVQs, VCE A levels, GNVQs and equivalents.
	
		Participation in Vocational Education and Training by 16–18 year olds in England, end 2001
		
			  Numbers Percentage of population 
		
		
			 Full-time and part-time education 534,500 28.8 
			 All Schools 72,100 3.9 
			 Sixth Form Colleges(22) 32,200 1.7 
			 FE Colleges1 430,100 23.2 
			 Work-based Learning (WBL) 152,400 8.2 
			 Total(23) 650,500 35.0 
		
	
	(22) Includes some students studying at Higher Education Institutions.
	(23) Total of full- and part-time education and WBL (less overlap between WBL and full- and part-time education).
	Source:
	DfES Statistical First Release 16/2002
	These figures do not include students in Employer Funded Education and Training (EFT) and Other Education and Training (OET) that are non-college based, for whom no academic/vocational split available.

Vocational Education and Training

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of vocational qualifications were awarded via colleges in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: The table below shows the numbers and proportions of vocational awards 1 by Centre Type during the 2001/02 academic year. The data are taken from the National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ) 2 . Awards coverage is for England only.
	1 Vocational Awards include NVQs/SVQs, other VQs and VRQs. 2 NISVQ has full coverage of NVQs awarded plus VRQs from three of the largest awarding bodies and other VQs from seven of the largest awarding bodies.
	
		Number and proportion of awards by Centre Type
		
			 Centre Type Numbers Percentages 
		
		
			 School 43,372 6 
			 FE college/tertiary college(26) 427,205 59 
			 Sixth form college 18,953 3 
			 Other(27) 236,809 33 
			 Total 726,339  
		
	
	(24) Includes Adult Education data.
	(25) Institutes classified as 'other' include: University or other Higher Education centre, Private Training provider, Local government/Central Government/NHS, Employer, HM Prison/Youth Offenders Institution and Armed Forces.
	Source:
	NISVQ

Vocational Education and Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vocational training places will be made available in Essex for young people and unemployed adults in each vocational craft.

Ivan Lewis: Responsibility for the provision of vocational training for young people and for adult and community learning is the responsibility of the Learning and Skills Council. I have therefore asked John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and to place a copy of his reply in the Library.
	Responsibility for the provision of opportunities for unemployed adults lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The table provided shows the number and type of training opportunities Jobcentre Plus' Essex District has contracted for between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004. Decisions about the scale and nature of opportunities have been taken taking into account the requirements of employers, jobseekers and the labour market.
	
		
			 Work-based learning for adult training places Total 
		
		
			 Self Employment 50 
			   
			 Basic Employment Training 142 
			   
			 Short Job Focused Training—Transport 60 
			 Short Job Focused Training—Fork lift 232 
			 Short Job Focused Training—Security 30 
			 Short Job Focused Training—IT 20 
			 Short Job Focused Training—Business Admin 71 
			 Short Job Focused Training—Construction 5 
			 Short Job Focused Training—Health Care and Public Services 6 
			 Short Job Focused Training—Retail 30 
			   
			 Longer Occupational Training—Construction 13 wks 101 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Engineering 6 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Business Admin 153 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Hospitality 16 
			 Longer Occupational Training—IT 95 
			 Longer Occupational Training—USING IT 13 wks 59 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Business Admin 26 wks 13 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Health Care and Public Services 23 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Retail 55 
			 Longer Occupational Training—LGV Class C licences 12 
			 Longer Occupational Training—Driving Instructor Training 18 
			 Total 1,197

Vocational Education and Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the progress made on the training pilots for vocational craft skills.

Ivan Lewis: The Employer Training Pilots were launched in six Learning and Skills Council (LSC) areas in September 2002. The pilots test the effects of offering employers a package of financial incentives to encourage them to allow their employees time off to train towards basic skills and level 2 qualifications. The training is free and delivered in a way that best suits the employer's business. Initial results suggested that the pilots were successfully engaging firms and individuals with little prior involvement in training, and they have therefore been extended until August 2004 and expanded to cover an additional six LSC areas.
	The new pilots, which will operate from summer 2003, will be located in Berkshire, East London, Kent, Leicester, Shropshire and South Yorkshire.
	The impact of the pilots is being evaluated on an on-going basis and although the final evaluation will not be available until early 2005, early indications are positive. Employers like the free training provision, delivered flexibly in the workplace, and the services of the independent broker to help them identify and source the most suitable training.
	Figures provided by the LSC show that as at 31 May 2003, 2,318 employers and 11,665 employees had signed up to the pilots. Over 90 per cent. of employers signing up to the pilots are SMEs and 72 per cent. have less than 50 employees. Learner drop-out rates are also extremely low.

Vocational Education and Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of people completing a vocational training course have obtained employment within three months in the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: Information is only available for those leaving Government supported work based learning for young people (WBLYP), and for those in a job six (not three) months after leaving learning. The percentages of learners on Government supported work based learning for young people (WBLYP) who were in a job six months after leaving are shown in the following table. The information in the table relates to all leavers and is taken from a postal survey sent to each learner six months after leaving the programme. The latest year for which figures are available is 2000–01.
	
		Percentages of survey respondents who were in a job six months after leaving a period of government supported training by financial year and programme
		
			 Financialyear ofleaving Advanced modern apprenticeships Foundation modern apprenticeships Other training Work-based learning for young people 
		
		
			 1998–99 82 n/a 64 69 
			 1999–2000 84 68 62 71 
			 2000–01 86 69 61 72 
		
	
	Source:
	DfES Statistical First Release 14/2002

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Afghan staff members have been engaged by the UK-led provincial reconstruction team in Mazar-e-Sharif; and how many of these are women.

Adam Ingram: About 20 local staff, including one woman, have been engaged so far to support the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team that will shortly deploy to Mazar-e-Sharif.

Colombia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United Kingdom service personnel are deployed in Colombia; and what the equivalent figure was in each of the past five years.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 910W.

Defence Medical Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the status of the Defence Medical Services.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Medical Services (DMS), comprise the Royal Naval Medical Service, the Army Medical Services and the Royal Air Force Medical Service. They are a vital component of the armed forces, providing essential medical support to Service personnel both on military operations and in peacetime. During 2002–03, DMS personnel have deployed successfully on operations to Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland.
	We are committed to the modernisation of the DMS to meet the challenges we expect to face in the future. The provision of an effective deployable medical operational capability in support of deployed forces in Iraq demonstrated that our medical personnel are among the very best in the world. We do not underestimate the continuing challenges facing us to make good the acknowledged manning shortfalls and to equip our doctors, dentists, nurses and other medical personnel with modern medical equipment, but we are committed to doing so.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the International Visits Control Office; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The International Visits Control Office is part of the Defence Procurement Agency, having transferred from the Directorate of Defence Security on 1 April 2003. It is currently based in London, but will transfer to Abbey Wood, Bristol by the end of 2003. It has no staff employed in Scotland. The office has a complement of nine staff, with annual personnel costs of approximately £177,000 compared to £189,000 for the previous year.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Estates; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: At 31 March 2003 Defence Estates employed 1,785 people, of which 112 were in Scotland. At 31 March 2002 it employed 1,539 people of which 107 were in Scotland. The Agency's expenditure on pay and allowances totalled £51 million in 2002–03 and £46 million in 2001–02.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Directorate of Standardisation; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: In 1999 the Directorate of Standardisation became the United Kingdom Defence Standardisation team and part of the Defence Procurement Agency's Procurement Development Group. The UK Defence Standardisation team has the equivalent of 38 people working full time of which 33 are employed in Scotland. The payroll costs for financial year 2003–04 will be £1.2 million. The figures for 2002–03 were 38, 32 and £1.1 million respectively.

Health Care Funding

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures have been taken to ensure that healthcare funding in the armed forces does not fall in relation to that available under the NHS. [R]

Ivor Caplin: The provision of timely appropriate healthcare for service personnel remains a very high priority for the Defence Medical Services (DMS) which seek to provide at least as high standards of care as provided by the NHS, and work closely with the NHS to achieve this.

Iraq

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sources he draws on for compiling his estimates of the numbers of civilian casualties in Iraq during 2003.

Adam Ingram: We have no means of ascertaining the numbers of military or civilian lives lost during decisive military operations in Iraq, and have therefore made no such estimates, although we made every effort to minimise civilian casualties.

Iraq

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to create a fully armed Iraqi Army; who will control it; what role a British Army training team will have; and whether other countries have requested a team for the training of their military.

Adam Ingram: Under the direction of Mr Walter Slocombe, the Director for Security Affairs, the Coalition Provisional Authority intends to lead on the creation of a New Iraqi Army. Its plans for the training of this force were formally announced on 23 June. Initial plans are to form a core Brigade of Light Infantry, although the final shape and size of the armed forces will be developed in consultation with emerging Iraqi authorities, who will be fully engaged in the development process. The early work will be conducted by the Coalition Military Advisory Training Team (CMATT) which has a UK military deputy. Training is due to commence on 15 July. It is anticipated that there will be a small United Kingdom element directly involved in the training and development processes of the New Iraqi armed forces. UK armed forces have significant experience in providing military assistance and advice to a number of countries around the world, including in the Middle East.

Less-than-lethal Weapons

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what less-than-lethal weapons have gone missing from the (a) armed forces and (b) intelligence services in the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The information requested will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House. The Ministry of Defence cannot comment in respect of the intelligence services.

RAF Church Fenton

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 452W, what guidance had been issued to his Department in respect of TUPE liabilities at RAF Church Fenton before the decision was made to transfer flying currently undertaken by the Joint Elementary Flying Training School to university air squadrons.

Ivor Caplin: No guidance was issued to the Department. The advice given by our own legal officers was that Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) would be unlikely to apply.

RAF Church Fenton

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 452W, how many additional staff have been recruited within university air squadrons in order to provide ground base flying training.

Ivor Caplin: Ground branch training for University Air Squadron (UAS) students has, in the past, been provided by the flying instructional staff, with some help from visiting lecturers and branch mentors from nearby RAF stations undertaking such work as a secondary duty. Various studies into UAS training had pointed to the benefits of dedicated ground branch training instructors, in particular to increase the potential for attracting ground branch students. In 1997, such posts were established on each of the 15 UASs but funding was not available. As a result of a further review of the UASs, funding was agreed and the first ground branch training instructor arrived in April 2003; a total of seven are now in place. The overall establishment of ground branch training instructors has been reduced to 14, with a shared instructor for two co-located UASs. It is expected that all the posts will be filled by the end of 2004.

RAF Church Fenton

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 452W, what representations have been received from the PROSPECT trade union in respect of the new arrangements for elementary flying training.

Ivor Caplin: Two meetings have been held with the PROSPECT Trade Union, at their request, to explain the new arrangements for Elementary Flying Training and consider whether Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) would apply to any current Babcock HCS staff when the new arrangements commence in July 2003.

RAF Church Fenton

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 452W, what budget was set for elementary flying training by university air squadrons in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04.

Ivor Caplin: The contract costs of providing Elementary Flying Training (EFT) to the University Air Squadrons (UASs) in 2001–02 and 2002–03, and the anticipated contract cost for 2003–04, are approximately £5.0 million, £5.5 million and £5.55 million respectively. This does not include fuel, manpower or the ownership of the sites where flying is undertaken. The UAS EFT share of the contract cost is approximately 49 per cent. of the total hours flown, as the contract also provides Air Experience Flying for Air Cadets and other non-EFT flying.

Senior Departmental Posts

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many senior departmental posts were advertised in each year since June 1999; and how many of these were advertised in the Scottish press.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested is set out as follows and covers the financial years 1999–2000 through to 2002–03.
	
		
			  Open competitions to Senior Civil Service posts 
		
		
			 1999–2000 7 
			 2000–01 6 
			 2001–02 9 
			 2002–03 9 
		
	
	All of the competitions were advertised in the National United Kingdom press with none specifically advertised in the Scottish press.

Service Manning

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2003, Official Report, column 349W, on service manning, if he will list the trades within the critical manning groups of the Army including the (a) requirement, (b) shortfall and (c) percentage manned.

Ivor Caplin: The following table lists the latest available figures (as at 31 March 2003) for the key trades within the critical manning groups of the Army. The critical manning levels of each trade is calculated by the Arms and Service Directors against various evolving requirements, including commitments. Thus, trades considered to be at critical manning and the factors affecting them will change from time to time.
	
		
			 Soldier arm/service and trade Liability Trained strength Shortfall Percentage manned 
		
		
			 Royal Corps of Signals 
			 Information systems operator 277 167 110 60.3 
			 Systems engineer technician 567 514 53 90.6 
			 Specialist operator 325 228 124 70.1 
			 Royal Logistic Corps 
			 Ammunition technician 344 268 76 77.9 
			 Chef 2,621 2,319 302 88.8 
			 Movement controller 368 331 37 89.9 
			 Petroleum operator 257 191 66 74.3 
			 Army Medical Services 
			 Royal Army veterinary corps dog trainer 110 89 21 80.9 
			 Anaesthetist 32 9 23 28.1 
			 Burns/plastic surgeon 4 2 2 50.0 
			 Radiologist 6 1 5 16.7 
			 Orthopaedic surgeon 11 8 3 72.7 
			 General surgeon 16 10 6 62.5 
			 General medical practitioner 197 100 97 50.8 
			 General duties registered nurse (officer) 350 284 66 81.1 
			 General duties registered nurse (soldier) 325 184 141 56.6 
			 Accident and emergency nurse (soldier) 25 5 20 20.0 
			 Intensive care nurse (soldier) 19 4 15 21.0 
			 Environmental health technician 72 61 11 84.7 
			 Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 
			 Vehicle mechanic 4,124 3,432 692 83.2 
			 Vehicle electrician 562 353 209 62.8 
			 Recovery mechanic 587 453 134 77.2 
			 Armourer 681 588 93 86.3 
			 Royal Engineers 
			 Explosive ordnance disposal 548 488 60 89.0 
			 Military works force 359 257 102 71.6 
			 Mechanical engineer fitter 705 512 193 72.6 
			 Mechanical engineer command, control and communications specialist 836 668 168 79.9 
			 Intelligence Corps 
			 Operator military intelligence (includes linguists) 1,094 1,013 81 92.6

Service Manning

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are being taken to address manning shortfalls in the critical manning groups of the (a) Army, (b) RAF and (c) Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: A range of positive measures are in hand across all three services to address critical manning shortfalls. These include both remunerative and non-remunerative measures, some targeted to specific shortfall groups and others across all the services. Recent Manning and Retention reviews for Submarine specialisms, Aircrew and Medical staff have introduced improved career patterns and financial incentives on entry (Golden Helios) and in return for commitment to specific periods of service. These proposals were endorsed by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB).
	Examples of some other further measures by individual service are detailed as follows:
	Naval Service—Promotion arrangements for RM Other Ranks and Chef and Warfare ratings have been reviewed to improve incentives, and the offer, where appropriate, of Second Open Engagements (beyond 22 years) has been well received. Artificers are currently the subject of a sustainability study.
	Army—Financial Retention Incentive (FRI) for the Royal SIGNALS.
	RAF—For Non-commissioned Aircrew (NCA), the implementation of the recommendations from the recent Airmen Aircrew Sustainability Study will introduce a revised NCA branch structure and address terms of conditions of service.

Service Pension

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rate of service pension is paid to an Army major who retired at the age of 55 years after 34 years reckonable service on 1 April (a) 1975, (b) 1976, (c) 1977, (d) 1978 and (e) 1979.

Ivor Caplin: The rate of service pension paid to an Army Major who retired at the age of 55 years after 34 years reckonable service on 1 April in each of the years between 1975–79 inclusive are as follows:
	
		
			  (26)£ (27)£ 
		
		
			 1975 2,957 18,362.14 
			 1976 3,108 14,890.96 
			 1977 3,210 13,800.43 
			 1978 4,220 15,869.90 
			 1979 4,876 16,511.84 
		
	
	(26) Amount of pension awarded on retirement (excludes any lump sum payable on retirement).
	(27) Amount received currently after applying pension increases in line with the Retail Price Index.

Suez Award

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he plans to make awards of the Suez Medal Clasp in advance of Remembrance Sunday this year; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he will announce criteria for applicants for a Suez Medal Clasp.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 616W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Mr. Russell) and the subsequent answer I gave on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 38W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws). Only when Her Majesty The Queen has approved the medal and the qualifying criteria, and the medals with the new clasp have been minted can they be issued to applicants who fulfil the qualifying criteria. Some medals may be despatched before Remembrance Sunday, but it is estimated that it could take a further two years to distribute the majority of medals to eligible applicants.

Suez Award

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his timetable is for the issuing of the newly-awarded Suez Canal Zone medal to veterans;
	(2)  he will make it his policy to issue to veterans the newly-awarded Suez Canal Zone medal prior to Remembrance Day 2003.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that the medals for service in the Canal Zone, now awarded to Suez veterans, will be issued within six months.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Members to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 616W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) and the subsequent answer I gave on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 38W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws). Some medals may be despatched before Remembrance Sunday, but it is estimated that up to 200,000 people could be eligible to receive the medal with its clasp. It would be impossible to issue all Suez Canal Zone medals this year, even if everyone who thought they might qualify for a medal applied immediately. It has been estimated that it could take a further two years to distribute the majority of medals to eligible applicants.

United States Task Force 20

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British forces are engaged with the United States Taskforce 20 in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: British Forces are operating closely alongside United States forces, including Task Force 20, in Iraq.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Colombia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have been held with United States officials concerning their contacts with paramilitary groups in Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We have regular discussions with the United States about Colombia in Washington and Bogota. Questions about US contacts with paramilitary groups is a matter for the US Government.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what outstanding matters remain for the Republic of Cyprus to address before it accedes to the EU; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Denis MacShane: The Republic of Cyprus has concluded negotiations with the EU. The commission produces regular annual reports setting out what Cyprus needs to do before accession on 1 May 2004. Between reports, commission monitoring is ongoing and the commission reports its findings regularly to the council and answers member states' questions on the monitoring process. The commission will publish a final, Comprehensive Monitoring Report publicly available on the commission website, www.europa.eu.int/comm/index en.htm, on or soon after 5 November this year. Monitoring will continue until and beyond accession.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take to ensure settlers not entitled to Republic of Cyprus nationality resident in occupied Cyprus do not have access to the benefits of an EU national to which Turkish Cypriots will be entitled, when Cyprus joins the EU; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Denis MacShane: In the absence of a settlement, the EU acquis will be suspended in the north of Cyprus when the Republic of Cyprus accedes to the EU. Those resident in the north of Cyprus who do not hold Republic of Cyprus passports will not be entitled to EU benefits. Turkish Cypriots with Republic of Cyprus passports will be entitled to EU benefits. However, the benefits available to Republic of Cyprus passport holders resident in the north of Cyprus will be limited by the suspension of the acquis in the north of Cyprus.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are in place to enable Turkish Cypriots resident in the occupied part of Cyprus to participate in elections for the European Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Denis MacShane: None. In the absence of a settlement, the EU acquis will be suspended in the north of Cyprus.

EU (Official Languages)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the EU concerning the adoption of Turkish as an official EU language; and if he will make a statement; [R]
	(2)  whether Turkish will be an official language of the EU after Turkey accedes to the EU; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Denis MacShane: The UK strongly supports Turkey's EU candidacy. Whether Turkish would become an official language of the EU after Turkey's accession would depend on the terms under which Turkey acceded.

George Orwell

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many documents have been withheld from the file at the Public Record Office known as FO 1110/189 regarding a meeting between the Information Research Department of the Foreign Office and George Orwell; for what reason each of these documents has been withheld; and if he will release the documents to the Public Record Office.

Jack Straw: One document has been withheld from FO 1110/189. It has been cleared for release and should be available at The National Archives in August. The document in question is the original of the list, published by the Guardian on 21 June, containing names of 38 alleged crypto-communists sent to the FCO by George Orwell in 1949. It was withheld from release in 1996 partly to respect the confidentiality under which it was given in 1949 and partly because a number of those named were still alive.

Indonesia

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take if British-built military equipment is being used to repress the people of Aceh.

Mike O'Brien: I visited Indonesia from 3–4 June and raised the issue of the use of British-supplied military equipment with senior members of the Indonesian Government, including President Megawati. I reminded the Indonesian Government of their assurances that they would not use British built military equipment offensively or in violation of human rights, and warned them of the possible consequences for defence sales and our defence relationship if there was a breach of such assurances. I also took the opportunity to urge the Indonesian Government to ensure that its armed forces respect human rights and act in accordance with international law.

Indonesia

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures Her Majesty's Government is taking to monitor the nature of the use of Scorpion tanks and other British-built military equipment in Aceh.

Mike O'Brien: Our embassy in Jakarta receives information from as wide a range of sources as possible, as well as from the Government. These include international agencies, NGOs, other observers and the media.

Indonesia

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the nature of the Indonesian Government's use of British-built Scorpion tanks in Aceh in recent weeks.

Mike O'Brien: The Indonesian Government announced on 23 June the deployment of 36 British-built Scorpion vehicles to Aceh to defend roads against attack by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
	Our embassy in Jakarta spoke to senior military contacts and reminded them of the assurances that British-built military equipment should not be used offensively or to violate human rights. We are actively monitoring compliance with these assurances, with care.

Iraq

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress with the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Denis MacShane: The Coalition is investing considerable effort in the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Coalition forces are actively pursuing sites, documentation and personnel associated with Iraq's WMD programmes. The US, UK and Australia have deployed specialist personnel to carry out this task, and more will follow.
	The search process itself is painstaking and detailed; we want to establish the truth beyond doubt. Given Iraq's emphasis on concealment, it is hardly surprising that concrete evidence has not yet come to light. But the search is continuing and we remain confident that evidence of Iraq's secret WMD programmes will be uncovered.

Iraq

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that (a) the United Nations is consulted with regard to the implementation of justice in Iraq and (b) the UN will continue to work in partnership with a new Iraqi administration.

Bill Rammell: In accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1483 Coalition partners have established regular and close dialogue on a range of issues with UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, since he arrived in Iraq on 2 June. Since his arrival Vieira de Mello has participated in Coalition meetings with Iraqi groups and pursued his own contacts with Iraqis.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 793W, when the UK Government gave the IAEA the information upon which it based its assessment that Iraq sought to procure substantial quantities of uranium from Africa.

Denis MacShane: The UK Government did not pass to the IAEA any information on Iraqi attempts to procure uranium.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what ways Iraq failed to make a complete disclosure on its weapons of mass destruction capability in response to UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

Denis MacShane: In his reports to the UN Security Council on 14 December 2002 and 9 January 2003, the Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC clearly stated that the declaration provided by Iraq in December 2002 failed to provide any satisfactory answers to the outstanding disarmament issues raised by the final report of UNSCOM's Executive Chairman produced in February 1999.

Pakistan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on recent attacks on Christians in Pakistan.

Mike O'Brien: We are very concerned about the attacks on Christians in Pakistan. In the last 12 months, we have received reports of four attacks on Christian institutions, which have claimed 20 lives. The latest attack was on 25 December 2002. The EU made clear its concerns on this and other human rights issues to the Pakistan authorities on 7 February 2003 and again on 23 June 2003. We will continue to urge Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of such attacks to justice and to pursue laws and practices to protect Christians and other religious minorities against discrimination, intimidation and attacks.

Pakistan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Pakistan authorities on that Government's recent human rights record, with specific reference to employer treatment of domestic servants.

Mike O'Brien: With our EU partners, we regularly engage the Pakistan authorities on Human Right issues. On 7 February 2003 the EU delivered a comprehensive demarche underlining its concerns on a wide range of human rights-related issues, including on specific individual cases. These concerns were reiterated on 23 June 2003. We have not had cause to raise the issue of domestic servants with the Pakistan authorities as no concrete evidence of human rights violations in this area has been presented to us.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the interception of the ship in Greek waters which was carrying explosives and (b) the response of the Government of Sudan.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 30 June 2003
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Dawson) today (UIN 122706).

Sudan

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the reports of the discovery, by Greek authorities, of large amounts of explosives on a ship heading for Sudan.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 30 June 2003
	The Greek authorities intercepted a ship carrying explosives destined for Sudan on 22 June. The explosives were being imported by the Sudanese Integrated Chemicals and Development Company, a cement business with a legitimate use for explosives. On 24 June, the Tunisian Interior Minister stated that the Tunisian exporter was genuine and respectable and had produced industrial explosives for Tunisia and for export for over half a century. The ship is still being held in Greece. An investigation into the incident is being led by the Greek coastguard. Two Prosecutors have been appointed to the case.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa (Deforestation)

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what percentage of Africa he estimates was covered in forest in (a) 1975, (b) 1985, (c) 1995 and (d) 2002.

Hilary Benn: Pursuant to my reply to the hon. Member for Lewes on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 23W, which stated that the loss of forest cover in Africa each year was 5.2 million hectares, I cited this as equivalent to the area of France. This was incorrect. This area of forest loss is about 1/10th of the size of France.

Aid Project Funding

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what projects will receive less funding as a result of the cut in departmental funding for (a) Iraq, from 2002–03 to 2003–04, (b) Palestine, from 2003–04 to 2004–05 and (c) Ethiopia, from 2002–03 to 2003–04; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: We have no plans to reduce funding on any projects from our existing programmes in Iraq, Palestine or Ethiopia.
	(a) Iraq: because of the conflict, our original expenditure plans for 2003–04 have been increased by an additional £75 million of DFID's own resources and £120 million from the Treasury central reserve in response to humanitarian needs during and following the conflict. An additional £9 million was also spent in 2002–03.
	(b) Palestine: programme expenditure plans for 2004–05 in fact show an increase over those originally planned for earlier years. Transfers from other budgets across budget lines and calls on the contingency reserve, have enabled us to provide additional funding to meet the urgent needs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
	(c) Ethiopia: due to the recent humanitarian situation, DFID expenditure in 2002–03 increased. This included substantial humanitarian assistance and a payment of £10 million for direct budget support. We have committed £19 million to Ethiopia in 2003–04. This includes both humanitarian and development assistance and could increase depending on the humanitarian situation. We envisage increasing our development support to Ethiopia over the coming years, as indicated in the 2003 DFID Departmental Report.

EU Regulations

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by the Department over each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Macshane) on 30 June 2003, Official Report, columns 64–65W.

PRIME MINISTER

Colombia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has held with United Kingdom companies concerning their investment strategies in Colombia; and what their participation will be in the forthcoming London conference on Colombia.

Tony Blair: The intergovernmental meeting in London on 10 July is being held to address the issue of international assistance to Colombia. In that context, other mechanisms are more appropriate for discussing UK investment strategies. I hope that a high-level delegation of business leaders will visit Colombia early next year to look at the issues of trade and investment.

Colombia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Prime Minister what advice he has (a) sought and (b) received from human rights groups concerning Colombia in respect of the London meeting on aid and support to Colombia on 9 July; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The Government has regular meetings with UK and Colombian NGOs to discuss the situation in Colombia, in particular with respect to human rights. The meeting on 9 July in London between the Colombian government and representatives of a range of organisations including for example NGOs and human rights groups, will allow concerns to be raised directly with the Colombian authorities and then to present them to the intergovernmental meeting on 10 July.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Allotments

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proposals the Government has (a) to protect and (b) to enhance the (i) provision and (ii) standards of allotment sites.

Keith Hill: Allotments are protected under Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 which requires consent from my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister before a local authority can dispose of statutory allotments. Consent decisions for the disposal of statutory allotments are made against criteria aimed at ensuring that allotments that are needed are not disposed of. These criteria have been strengthened and clarified following public consultation in 2001.
	The provision of allotments is determined locally by allotment authorities. The Small Holdings and Allotments Act (1908) places a duty on local authorities to provide sufficient allotments, according to local demand. In addition Planning Policy Guidance note 17: Open Space, Sport and Recreation, indicates that local authorities should assess the existing and future needs of their communities for all open spaces of public value, including allotments. Local authorities should then plan to meet those identified needs.
	The Government have also published "Growing in the community: a good practice guide for the management of allotments", which was published in June 2001, and which provides comprehensive advice for local authorities on all aspects of allotment management. We have also published "Allotments: a plot holders' guide", which provides advice to current and potential allotment plot holders.

Brownfield/Greenfield Sites

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the implications of the reclassification of brownfield sites to greenfield sites are for the area's eligibility for European funding under Objective One regulations.

Keith Hill: South Yorkshire's eligibility for European Objective 1 funding is based on the economic prosperity of the area and that in 1999 South Yorkshire's GDP was below 75 per cent. of the European average. There are no qualifying factors based on land classification or a proportion of land being either greenfield or brownfield. In policy terms the Objective 1 Programme supports sustainable development and grant offers may be made to projects that meet the relevant criteria, including evidence that all the appropriate planning permissions are in place.

Emissions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps the Government are taking to meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations in relation to greenhouse gas emissions from domestic dwellings.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	Domestic buildings accounted for approximately 28 per cent. of total UK CO2 emissions in 2000. The Government therefore view the household sector as a key area for achieving emissions reductions.
	In the Energy White Paper "Our Energy Future—Creating a Low-Carbon Economy" published in February this year, the Government accepted the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's recommendation that the UK should put itself on the path to cut CO2 emissions by some 60 per cent. by about 2050. In the White Paper the Government said that they expected energy efficiency to deliver around half of the total carbon savings needed by 2010. The household sector was identified as having the potential to deliver 3.5 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) beyond the measures already identified in the UK Climate Change Programme. Looking beyond the first Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period, the Government believe that energy efficiency can deliver a similar proportion of the emission reductions needed during the following decade. Around half of these energy efficiency savings could be made in the household sector.
	The White Paper has identified a number of key measures through which carbon emission reductions might be achieved in the household sector by 2010:
	
		Carbon emission reductions
		
			 Measure MtC 
		
		
			 Raising boiler standards 0.6 
			 Insulating cavity walls 1.2 
			 Low energy light bulbs 0.5 
			 Improved efficiency of household appliances 0.4 
			 Insulation measures and community CHP 1 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures given for each measure are indicative rather than targets.
	The key policies to deliver these are set out in the Energy White Paper and include:
	The Energy Efficiency Commitment;
	Building Regulations and the implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive;
	Improved energy performance standards for household appliances and other products;
	The Community Energy Programme;
	Programmes targeted on the fuel poor and social housing;
	Tax measures; and
	Advice and information, in particular through the work of the Energy Saving Trust.
	The Government have committed to publish within a year an implementation plan that sets out in further detail how it will deliver the energy efficiency strategy set out in the White Paper.

Housing Revenue Account

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to prevent councils from using housing revenue account money to fund the administration of anti-social behaviour orders.

Keith Hill: The Government have no plans to prevent councils from using Housing Revenue Account (HRA) money to fund the administration of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs).
	Local authorities use HRA money for the management and maintenance of council housing in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	When local authority landlords use Anti-Social Behaviour Orders to tackle anti-social behaviour relating to local authority housing, then they are right to use HRA money to do so.
	Tackling anti-social tenants is a housing management function, and local authority landlords, because of their long-term commitment to their tenants and improving communities, are usually amongst the first agencies to know of problems. They must be responsive to the issues that local communities face and to ensure that properties do not become hard to let, as a result of crime and disorder problems. ASBOs have made an important contribution to reducing anti-social behaviour and enabling communities to get on with their daily lives.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria he will use in distributing funding for each side of the campaign in the regional assembly referendums; and what funding will be distributed to each side in each referendum.

Phil Hope: Section 108 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) provides that the Electoral Commission may designate permitted participants as organisations to whom assistance is available as representing those campaigning for the outcomes in question. It must designate organisations on each side or none.
	If it designates organisations, the Electoral Commission will be able to provide a grant of the same amount to each. The maximum grant under PPERA is £600,000 for each designated organisation. Each designated organisation will also be entitled to receive other assistance: mailing of a referendum address free to every household or elector; the use of public rooms free of charge for holding public meetings; and referendum campaign broadcasts.
	The Electoral Commission is considering what the level of grant should be for regional referendums.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  over what period each regional assembly referendum will be held;
	(2)  what the timetable for each regional referendum will be; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The referendum period will be determined by an order under section five of the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003.
	The provisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) set a standard referendum period of 10 weeks. This consists of three separate stages: 28 days for permitted participants to apply to be designated as the "yes" or "no" campaign; 14 days for the Electoral Commission to determine applications; and 28 days for the poll.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will designate the referendum period for regional assemblies.

Phil Hope: The Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 provides that my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister may make an order to cause a referendum to be held in a region at any time during the period of two years starting with the date on which the Boundary Committee is directed to carry out a local government review in that region. On 16 June 2003 he directed the Boundary Committee to conduct local government reviews in the north-east, the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber regions. The Boundary Committee will report its recommendations by 25 May 2004.
	Then at least six weeks must elapse before the Order is laid. An order therefore cannot be laid before 3 July 2004.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether it is his policy to permit postal ballots in the regional assembly referendums; and if he will make a statement on the use of alternative voting methods in the referendums.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not yet decided what the method of voting will be for the first regional referendums. The referendums may be held either by all-postal voting or by a traditional ballot, and using electronic counting of votes. The Government intend that the same method of voting should be used throughout a region and in all regions holding referendums on the same day. But over time, the method of voting may change.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what plans the Government has to limit announcements (a) during the regional assembly referendum period and (b) in the period immediately before the regional assembly referendum period;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the distribution of Government literature (a) during the regional assembly referendum period and (b) in the period immediately before the regional assembly referendum period.

Phil Hope: Regional assembly referendums are governed by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) and the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003.
	Section 125 of PPERA provides that in the final 28 days before the assembly referendum, the Government will not be able to publish material relating to issues in the referendum. These controls apply equally to local authorities and to any other publicly funded body.
	There are no statutory restrictions on publications or announcements before the 28 day period.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the powers and responsibilities to be held by regional assemblies; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Government's proposals on the functions of elected regional assemblies are principally set out in chapter 4 in the White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice" (Cm 5511) which was published in May 2002.
	The White Paper also said that we would build into policy development the new opportunities offered by the creation of elected regional assemblies. On this basis my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 30 June proposals for the future organisation of the fire service, set out in the White Paper "Our Fire and Rescue Service" (Cm 5808). These proposals include a more coherent regional approach to fire and rescue in accordance with the recommendations of the independent review of the fire service, the report of which was published in December 2002. As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister said on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 22, where directly elected regional assemblies are established, we envisage there being regional fire and rescue authorities that are democratically accountable to those assemblies.

Waste Strategy

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the targets for his Department's waste minimisation strategy are.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Greening Operations Policy Statement requires that we recover or recycle at least 70 per cent. of its waste in 2003–04, while reducing paper use by 10 per cent. compared with the base year of 1999–2000.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Ministers

John Horam: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, on behalf of the Lord President of the Privy Council, if he will list the number of Ministers in his Department in each year since 1996.

Christopher Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 661W.

Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the appointees to (a) the Imperial College Govening Body, (b) the Court of UMIST, (c) the Court of University of Hull, (d) the Court of University of Sussex, (e) the Court of University of Ulster, (f) the Court of the University of Manchester, (g) the Council for the Professions Supplementary to Medicine, (h) the General Medical Council, (i) the Royal Council of Veterinary Surgeons, (j) the Registered Homes Tribunals Panel of Experts and (k) the Royal College of Court; and which of the appointees to each body are from ethnic minorities.

Christopher Leslie: The Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine no longer exists, and the Privy Council no longer makes appointments to the Registered Homes Tribunal Panel of Experts. Privy Council appointees for the other bodies mentioned are set out as follows:
	Imperial College
	Field Marshall Lord Vincent
	Trevor Phillips QBE
	Ms Charlotte L Chothia
	Balram Gidoomal
	Sir Alastair Motion
	Sir Peter Williams
	UMIST
	Denis Robson
	Miss Dawn Gibbins
	Geoffrey Galley
	Keith Beckett
	University of Hull
	Lord Haskins
	John Trebble
	Michael Hollingbery
	University of Sussex
	Mark Burrell
	Mrs Gail Rebuck
	Prof. Barry Supple
	University of Ulster
	The Lord Glentoran CBE
	Mrs Bernadette Grant
	University of Manchester
	Dame Valerie Strachan DCB
	Dr Inayat Khan Babar
	Clonel John Bradford Timmins QBE TD JP
	Ms Dawn Peters
	Anthony Nixon
	General Medical Council
	Kevin Baron MP
	The Very Reverend Graham Forbes
	Robert Nicholls
	Ruth Evans
	Dr Arun Midha
	Mrs Patricia Moberly
	David Bean
	Sir Michael Buckley
	Mrs Gillian Camm
	Stuart Heatherington
	Robin McLeod
	Dr Joan Martin
	Fiona Peel
	Ann Robinson
	Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
	James M Scudamore
	F Brian Jennings
	Mr Martyn Jones MP
	Mrs Barbara Saunders
	Royal College of Art
	Dr Kenneth Grange CBE
	The other information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Unpaid Fines

Robert Key: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of fines were unpaid in (a) Salisbury magistrates court and (b) Salisbury crown court in 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs) have a responsibility for the collection of a range of debts imposed by both the magistrates courts and the crown court. Debt collected includes not only fines but also fees, compensation, confiscation orders, legal aid contributions and some maintenance orders. It is not yet possible to separate out only fines from the total, so the figures provided here include all the elements above.
	Data are collected centrally at MCC level, rather than at court level. In addition, the Wiltshire MCC accounting system is unable to identify the percentage of fines unpaid in the Salisbury magistrates court. The payment rate for the Wiltshire MCC in 2002–03, calculated as the percentage of the total amount collected over the amount imposed, was 68 per cent. On that basis, the percentage of fines unpaid was 32 per cent.
	Information from the Wiltshire MCC indicated that the payment rate in 2002–03 for the South East Wiltshire Petty Session Area, which includes Salisbury and Devizes, was 48 per cent.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Autistic Children

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on respite provision for autistic children in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There are no specific respite care services for children with autistic spectrum disorders. Respite services are provided for children with disabilities including residential provision, domiciliary care, host family and fostering services, holiday schemes and day care. The development of respite care services has been included in Priorities for Action 2003–04, and additional funding has been allocated for this purpose. In addition, health and social services boards have been asked to bring forward-costed proposals for enhancing autism services, particularly diagnostic and assessment services.

Classroom Assistants

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many classroom assistants were employed in each Education and Library Board area in Northern Ireland in each year since 2000.

Jane Kennedy: The number of classroom assistants employed in each Education and Library Board area in Northern Ireland is as follows:
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 BELB 351 452 531 
			 NEELB 833 914 1,185 
			 SEELB 1,056 1,220 1,367 
			 SELB 841 907 960 
			 WELB 910 948 1,100

Commissioners

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress in establishing the office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People.

Paul Murphy: I am pleased to state, that on 26 June 2003 Mr. Nigel Williams was announced as the first Commissioner for Children and Young People for Northern Ireland. Mr. Williams is currently the Chief Executive of Childnet International, a registered charity set up in 1996 that specialises in protecting children from abuse on the Internet. He will take up post as Commissioner on 1 October 2003.

Commissioners

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards establishing an older people's rights commissioner in Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: The Government are committed to the on-going promotion of the rights of older people in society. As a result of a consultation exercise on future issues to be addressed through the Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) initiative of New Targeting Social Need (New TSN), the NI Executive's Programme for Government committed us to opening new channels of communication with organisations that represent older people to identify the developing needs of older people, and to consider how our services can best be provided in appropriate and accessible ways.
	A PSI working group was established in October 2002 to assist in developing a strategy for older people. The working group is made up of representatives from NI Departments, the wider public sector, the voluntary sector and organisations representing older people such as; Help the Aged, Age Concern and the Age Sector Reference Group. The Northern Ireland Executive agreed the terms of reference and membership of the working group.
	The Working Group will consider factors which cause older people to be at risk of social exclusion, and develop a co-ordinated strategy through which relevant agencies will work together to tackle them.
	The working group held a conference on 28 March "Ageing in An Inclusive Society" to explore the issues affecting older people. Approximately 100 people attended for the statutory, community and voluntary sectors. The issues raised will inform the development of the strategy.
	The Working Group will develop a draft policy and strategy document for public consultation, setting out clearly defined recommendations as to what preventative and other measures are required, by whom, and within what timescales, and other mechanisms to be put in place to evaluate effectiveness and ensure progress. At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the likely nature of the recommendations.

Firefighters

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firefighters are unable to work as a result of violent attacks by members of the community in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: One member of the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade is currently unable to work as a result of being attacked.

Language Rights

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what steps are being taken to incorporate the issue of equality for Irish speakers in the guidelines of the Equality Commission;
	(2)  what the policy is of the Equality Commission on promoting (a) the use of the spoken Irish language in the workplace and (b) the use of written Irish in public through (i) signage and (ii) other measures;
	(3)  what training has been given to (a) staff and (b) Commissioners at the Equality Commission on language rights, with particular reference to the rights of Irish speakers.

John Spellar: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to write to the hon. Member on these matters. Copies of the letters will be placed in the Library.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Government are taking to make non-departmental public bodies more representative of the community in Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: Appointments to the NI Administration Boards of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) are governed by the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland; Northern Ireland Office appointments are covered by the Commissioner's GB Code. The overriding principle is that selection must be based on merit, through the well informed choice of individuals who, through their abilities, experience and qualities match the needs of the body in question. The Commissioner's Code also requires Departments to ensure their processes for making appointments comply with the statutory duty under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity. The Commissioner's remit covers appointments to Executive NDPBs and HPSS bodies (and, in the case of the Northern Ireland Office, Advisory NDPBs), but all Departments routinely apply the principles of the Commissioner's Code to all appointments. The Central Appointments Unit in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister recently developed a Public Appointments Best Practice guide to assist Departments in the application of the Commissioner's Code. A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library. The Northern Ireland Office follows Cabinet Office Best Practice Guidance which was introduced in July 2001.
	Other steps taken by Departments to ensure that Boards are representative include:
	advertising in the press and on the website, www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/publicappointments, and circulating to a wide range of individuals and groups a six-monthly list of forthcoming vacancies;
	varied use of media advertising (special interest magazines in addition to the local press) for appointments;
	providing information through leaflets, press articles and seminars;
	revising nomination forms to make them less off putting and to enable greater account to be taken of non traditional career patterns;
	reviewing person specifications to ensure specific groups are not inadvertently discriminated against; and
	visits to voluntary and community groups to raise awareness of opportunities.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total expenditure out of the public purse was of each non-departmental public body in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Murphy: The information sought in the question is available in the "Public Bodies" publication produced annually by the Cabinet Office and made available through the Stationery Office and on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/agencies-publicbodies/. This publication provides information on the size, spend, funding and membership of public bodies in the UK and includes non-departmental public bodies attached to the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments. The current edition of the publication, "Public Bodies 2002" is available in the House of Commons Library. An updated version for 2003 is currently being prepared and should be published by the Cabinet Office before the end of the year.

Northern Ireland Police Board

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost is of retaining the consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers by the Northern Ireland Police Board; and how many independent assessors have been appointed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in their work for the Police Board in establishing District Police Partnerships.

Jane Kennedy: The sum to date paid to PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the recruitment exercise for District Policing Partnerships is £555,769.
	PriceWaterhouseCoopers appointed 18 independent observers to assist in the appointment of the independent members of District Policing Partnerships.

Private Care Organisations

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to simplify the process of negotiating contracts and funding for private care organisations involved in rehabilitation and management of debilitating illness.

Angela Smith: It is the responsibility of the health and social services boards and trusts at operational level to negotiate and agree contracts for the provision of residential and domiciliary care by the independent sector. To assist in this process, the four Board Chief Executives have established a regional group to make recommendations on the appropriate fee levels for care in residential and nursing homes. Recommendations on residential and nursing home fees are based on the level of need across each of the programmes of care. In each of the last three years, the recommendations of the regional group have been endorsed by the Department and accepted as the agreed regional rates by the four boards. Rates for domiciliary care provision are currently negotiated at board and trust level with independent sector providers.

Private Office Costs

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the running costs have been of Ministers' private offices in his Department in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: This question was put to all Northern Ireland Departments; however, we are replying only in relation to the Northern Ireland Office.
	The Northern Ireland Office incurred the following running costs, in relation to Ministers' private offices:
	
		£
		
			  Running costs 
		
		
			 2003–04 (28)128,164 
			 2002–03 1,610,821 
			 2001–02 1,127,731 
			 2000–01 1,155,931 
			 1999–2000 1,270,185 
			 1998–99 1,294,715 
			 1997–98 974,242 
		
	
	(28) To end May 2003.

Real IRA

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment has been undertaken of (a) the capacity of the Real IRA to manufacture bombs and (b) whether the Real IRA is receiving co-operation from the Provisional IRA.

Jane Kennedy: The bombs intercepted recently in Londonderry and the explosives find near Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland clearly demonstrates that dissidents have the capacity to manufacture bombs. While dissidents remain a threat to the peace process, the security forces on both sides of the border continue to disrupt, intercept or thwart their operations through good intelligence-led policing and covert operations. The Government's security advice is that PIRA remains on ceasefire and supports the peace process.

Saville Inquiry

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the costs of the Saville Inquiry as of 30 June, broken down by legal fees paid to individual barristers acting for (a) the Ministry of Defence and (b) families of the victims.

John Spellar: Up to end June 2003 the cash spend by the Northern Ireland Office on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was a total of £89.2 million. Out of this amount £7.962 million has been spent on the payment of fees to counsel representing the families or the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. These figures are set out in the table and include VAT, where that is paid, and in most cases, expenses as well as fees.
	The fees of Ministry of Defence counsel are a matter for my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for Defence.
	
		
			  Payments made (£) Period coveredFromTo 
		
		
			  Senior counsel representing the families(29) 
			 Lord Gifford 553,062 October 1998 January 2003 
			 Arthur Harvey 767,362 July 1998 January 2003 
			 Michael Lavery 435,024 November 2000 December 2002 
			 B. J. MacDonald(30) 513,755 September 1998 September 2002 
			 P. T. MacDonald(31) 65,800 April 1998 June 1999 
			 Michael Mansfield 457,261 March 1999 November 2002 
			 Elish McDermott 105,309 March 2000 June 2001 
			 Seamus Treacy(32) 600,492 March 1998 December 2002 
			 Eoin McGonigal 82,446 October 2000 June 2002 
			 
			  Senior counsel representing NICRA 
			 Sir Louis Blom-Cooper 306,541 December 2000 October 2002 
			 
			  Junior counsel representing the families(33) 
			 John Coyle 272,473 September 1999 January 2003 
			 Fiona Doherty 193,824 October 2000 October 2002 
			 Ciaran Harvey 349,105 December 2000 December 2002 
			 Richard Harvey 331,733 October 2000 August 2002 
			 Brian Kennedy 546,694 July 1999 March 2003 
			 Philip Magee(34) 83,175 June 1998 September 2000 
			 Kieran Mallon 658,899 March 1999 May 2003 
			 Brian McCartney 640,261 July 1998 April 2003 
			 Karen Quinlivan 179,147 March 1999 December 2001 
			 Patricia Smyth(35) 328,719 October 1998 June 2002 
			 Mary McHugh 123,972 February 2002 October 2002 
			 Michael Topolski(36) 139,940 November 2000 June 2001 
			 
			  Junior counsel representing NICRA 
			 Paddy O'Hanlon 227,728 November 2000 October 2002 
		
	
	(29) In addition, the following senior counsel have represented/are representing some of the families but have yet to submit fee claims: Kevin Finnegan and Reg Weir.
	(30) Left the case (as a junior) in September 2000 and rejoined the case (as a senior) July 2001.
	(31) Left the case June 1999.
	(32) Having started as a junior in March 1998, became a senior counsel in September 2000.
	(33) In addition, the following junior counsel have represented/are representing some of the families but have yet to submit fee claims: Tom McCreanor and Declan Morgan.
	(34) Left the case September 2000.
	(35) Left the case June 2002.
	(36) Left the case June 2001.

Senior Citizens

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many senior citizens over the age of 65 in Northern Ireland have taken up the opportunity to hold concessionary travel passes, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

John Spellar: The following table shows the take up of senior citizens Smartpasses by Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency as at October 2002. The total number of senior Smartpasses in circulation as of 23 June 2003 was 158,156. However, to disaggregate this figure by parliamentary constituency could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Constituency Estimated number of Smartpasses 
		
		
			 Belfast East 10,947 
			 Belfast North 10,325 
			 Belfast South 9,389 
			 Belfast West 7,060 
			 East Antrim 8,247 
			 East Londonderry 6,741 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 6,014 
			 Foyle 6,508 
			 Lagan Valley 9,164 
			 Mid Ulster 4,670 
			 Newry and Armagh 6,912 
			 North Antrim 7,811 
			 North Down 10,263 
			 South Antrim 8,011 
			 South Down 7,684 
			 Strangford 8,816 
			 Upper Bann 8,738 
			 West Tyrone 5,249 
			 Total 142,549

Targeted Benefits

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been commissioned to ascertain the reasons for the variations in take-up of targeted benefits; and if he will make a statement on the findings.

John Spellar: The Department for Social Development has commissioned no research to ascertain individuals' reasons for claiming or not claiming targeted benefits. It has, however, commissioned research to estimate the level of benefit take-up and to establish the extent to which there is variation in that level and to determine factors which appear to be contributing to such variations. The research commissioned was to estimate the take-up of income support and jobseeker's allowance (income based) in Northern Ireland, and the results of the research were published in May 2002.
	The findings of the research published in 2002 indicated that:
	the take-up of income support was estimated at 76 per cent. by caseload and 84 per cent. by spending; and
	the take-up of jobseeker's allowance (income based) was estimated at 75 per cent. by caseload and 79 per cent. by spending.
	In addition, the Social Security Agency has commissioned research to investigate the degree of variation in take-up of disability living allowance, both within Northern Ireland and between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This work is in progress.

Tourism

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to promote tourism in Northern Ireland through support for cultural traditions organised by the Loyal Orders.

Ian Pearson: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has mainstreamed cultural tourism as a key marketing and development opportunity for tourism in Northern Ireland. NITB seeks to facilitate the development of a visitor experience that is unique to Northern Ireland and that capitalises on the distinctive and diverse elements of Northern Ireland's cultural traditions and way of life. With specific reference to support for cultural traditions organised by the Loyal Orders, NITB is happy to consider applications seeking support for particular events that will showcase these in a manner which has potential to attract out of state visitors.

HEALTH

Antidepressants

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for antidepressant medicines were written in the NHS in England in 2002; and what the total cost of antidepressant medicines was to the NHS in that year.

Rosie Winterton: In 2002, 26.3 million prescription items of anti-depressant drugs were dispensed in the community in England, with a net ingredient cost of £380.9 million.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many working days were lost in (a) England, (b) South Sefton, (c) Southport and (d) Formby because of arthritis and related conditions in each year since 1999; how much he estimates the lost work days owing to arthritis cost the economy; and what action is being taken to reduce the number of work days lost because of arthritis.

Stephen Ladyman: We do not collect figures centrally covering lost working days for people with arthritis. We want to help people with arthritis to remain in, or return to, work wherever this is possible and appropriate for them. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists play a crucial part in the rehabilitation of people suffering from arthritis and related conditions and the focus will be to restore the person to their optimal function, including returning to work, where appropriate.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population in (a) England, (b) South Sefton, (c) Southport and (d) Formby he estimates will suffer from arthritis in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: Currently, it is estimated that about eight million people in the United Kingdom have arthritis. This is approximately 14 per cent. of the population. We would expect that these figures would remain fairly constant over time.
	Separate figures on the incidence of arthritis for South Sefton, Southport and Formby are not available centrally.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Government will introduce a national strategy for arthritis.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government are aware that arthritis is a major cause of disability in the UK and that it has a significant impact not only on health and community services but also on the people who experience its painful symptoms. We are sympathetic to the needs of patients with arthritis and have helped make new generation drugs for arthritis treatment such as etanercept and infliximab available to national health service patients.
	There are currently no plans to introduce a formal national strategy for arthritis.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Government will introduce arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions to be a priority for health and social care.

Stephen Ladyman: Priorities for health and social care are set out in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for 2003–06. Although arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are not identified specifically, people with these conditions stand to benefit from the improvement in access to specialist care for patients suffering from any form of orthopaedic condition. Maximum waiting times have fallen over the past few years and will continue to do so, so that, by the end of 2005, the maximum waiting time for a first outpatient appointment with a consultant will fall to three months and the maximum wait for inpatient treatment will fall to six months. Also, the older peoples' national service framework set standards which will improve treatment and care for a range of older people, including those with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of arthritis was to health and social services in England in 2002–03.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally. Health authorities (HAs) and primary care trusts receive unified allocations to cover the costs of hospital and community health services, discretionary funding for general practice staff, premises and computers and primary care prescribing.
	The level of funding made available for the drugs, staffing and other costs of providing arthritis services are determined locally. It is for HAs, in partnership with primary care groups/trusts and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to provide health services for their populations, including those with arthritis.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the two most common types of (a) arthritis and (b) musculoskeletal conditions are.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the incidence of individual conditions is not collected centrally. Research evidence suggests that osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the most common forms of arthritis. Other than arthritis, the most common types of musculoskeletal conditions are traumatic damage to ligaments and tendons, manifested as sprains, backache and similar conditions.

Arthritis

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the second most common cause of working days lost by (a) men and (b) women was in 2002–03.

Melanie Johnson: The second most common cause of working days lost by both men and women was diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue.

Arthritis

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce a national strategy for arthritis; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) today.

Arthritis

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) rheumatologists and (b) multi-disciplinary specialists in arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are employed by NHS trusts which serve the Portsmouth South area.

Rosie Winterton: The latest Department of Health medical and dental workforce census data (September 2002) confirms that five rheumatologists are employed by Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust.
	Information on the number of multi-disciplinary specialists in arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions is not collected centrally.

Back Pain

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of back pain was to the NHS in the last year for which figures are available; what research is being conducted into the management of such pain; how many treatment centres are available in (a) England and (b) each Government Office region; what the average referral time is for patients diagnosed with back pain and related conditions; what plans there are to provide additional resources to tackle this condition; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Comprehensive information is not held centrally on the cost of back pain to the national health service or on referral times for patients diagnosed with back pain. At national level, the NHS research and development health technology assessment programme is currently supporting two research projects on the management of back pain covering, respectively, whether early imaging influences management and improves outcome in patients with low back pain, and the longer term clinical and economic benefits of offering acupuncture to patients with chronic low back pain. Treatment is available very widely. It is for primary care trusts to determine what level of resources to devote to the treatment of different conditions in their localities.
	The Government are currently exploring a number of ways to improve access to occupational health services and vocational rehabilitation for all workers, including those suffering from back pain, through NHS Plus and the Welfare to Work reforms. NHS Plus, launched in November 2001, is currently providing access to local occupational health services to small and medium sized businesses through 107 providers (NHS trusts) across the United Kingdom; while, the NHS "Back in Work" campaign aims to reduce the causes of back pain and the incidents that lead to back pain in the NHS. In addition, the new Job Retention and Rehabilitation pilots, launched on 1 April 2003, and the Incapacity Benefit reforms, announced in the Government's Green Paper in November 2002, "Pathways to Work", are offering work-focused interventions for those with health problems, including back pain, to help people return to work.

Basildon Hospital

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on the provision of a new cardiac centre at Basildon hospital; when the Essex Strategic Health Authority will consider the final plans; how many heart operations a year the centre will perform; what range of procedures and operations will be available at the unit; and when the unit will become available for use.

Stephen Ladyman: There has been continued long-term investment in the capital infrastructure to support further expansion of cardiac surgery and to reduce waiting times. 12 major capital developments schemes have so far been announced; four in March 2001 and eight in November 2001, at a total cost of over £300 million.
	The cardiac scheme in Basildon is one of a number of additional schemes, which have not yet been announced but where planning is proceeding and Department of Health officials are being kept informed of progress. The scheme will need to progress through the normal planning procedures including demonstrating local commissioner support to enable a final decision to be made.

Botox

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the regulatory status is of an ampoule of botox; and what the restrictions are on its (a) sale and (b) prescription;
	(2)  what plans he has to ensure that administration of botox injections is regulated;
	(3)  what medical qualifications are needed in order to administer botox injections.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 2 July 2003
	Botox is legally classified as a prescription only medicine. As such, it may be sold or supplied by a doctor direct to his/her patient or to a person responsible for the patient's care. Otherwise, it may only be sold or supplied against a doctor's prescription by or under the supervision of a pharmacist on registered pharmacy premises.
	The administration of Botox is regulated under the Medicines Act 1968. As a parenteral medicine, it may be self administered, administered by a doctor or a dentist, or administered by anyone in accordance with the directions of a doctor or a dentist. These directions must be specific to the patient.
	Parenteral medicines may also be administered by specified groups of health professional, such as nurses and ambulance paramedics, under a patient group direction.

Cancer Plan

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new staff have been employed as a result of the Cancer Plan.

Melanie Johnson: Additional funding was made available in the NHS Cancer Plan, rising to an extra £570 million a year by 2003–04. Some of this is being used to make substantial investment in staff, with a wide range of new appointments that are contributing to the delivery of cancer care.
	The table shows good progress in increasing the number of doctors working in cancer services. This increase means the national health service is on track to hit the target set out in the Cancer Plan of nearly 1,000 extra cancer consultants by 2006. The table also shows that we are making good progress with increasing the number of radiographers working in the NHS. The overall increase of 50,000 nurses working in the NHS will also enable the recruitment of additional cancer-site specific nurse specialists, chemotherapy nurses, district nurses, palliative care nurse specialists and additional nurses on wards caring for cancer patients.
	
		Hospital medical consultants within selected specialties relating to cancer
		
			  Numbers (headcount) 
			 England 1999 Sept 2002 Change 
		
		
			 All Cancer specialties, of which: 3,362 3,913 551 
			 Clinical oncology 305 315 10 
			 Clinical radiology 1,507 1,702 195 
			 Haematology 510 588 78 
			 Histopathology 836 968 132 
			 Medical oncology 110 185 75 
			 Palliative medicine 94 155 61 
			 Radiographers, of which:
			 Diagnostic 10,839 11,489 650 
			 Therapeutic 1,491 1,542 51 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census

Care Homes

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support is available to local authorities to enable them to create additional nursing and residential home beds for the elderly.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 30 June 2003
	Most of the financial resources available to local government are unhypothecated and each council must decide, in the light of its priorities and service needs, how much to spend on additional nursing and residential home beds for elderly people. On a like for like basis, funding to local government in England for the provision of personal social services increased by 6.2 per cent. (3.6 per cent. in real terms) in 2002–03 and by 9.1 per cent. (6.3 per cent. in real terms and excluding resource equalisation) in 2003–04.

Care Homes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available in care homes in Essex in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The latest available information on the number of care home places in Essex is shown in the table.
	
		Care home places in Essex, 1997–2001
		
			  Total number of care home places(37) 
			 As at 31 March 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Essex area(38) 14,840 14,960 14,730 14,200 14,230 
			 Essex area excluding unitary councils(39) n/a n/a 12,330 11,650 11,670 
		
	
	(37) Total includes places in residential LA staffed, independent and dual registered homes, and beds in general and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics.
	(38) Care home places in nursing homes in North and South Essex Health Authorities and residential homes in Essex Shire County and Southend and Thurrock Unitary Authorities. In 1997 and 1998 Southend and Thurrock Unitary authorities did not exist.
	(39) Care home places in nursing homes in North and South Essex Health Authorities and residential homes in Essex Shire County.
	Source:
	RA Form A and RH(N) forms, Department of Health

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a person working at the premises will have the right to refuse to be interviewed under Clause 86(1)(c)(i) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill.

Stephen Ladyman: The provision at clause 86(1)(c)(i) (first print) gives the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) power to interview in private any person working at premises which CSCI is inspecting. Clause 86(5) provides that it would be an offence to obstruct CSCI in the exercise of its functions, and this provision is intended to make clear (mirroring existing provision in the Care Standards Act) that a manager must not prevent any person who consents to being interviewed by CSCI being interviewed. In certain circumstances, which will be set out in detail in regulations to be made under clause 85 of the Bill, CSCI will be able to require prescribed persons to give explanations of prescribed matters to CSCI. Failure without reasonable excuse to do so in these circumstances would be a criminal offence.

Community Health Councils

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the arrangements are for passing on community health council records to their successor bodies.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 June 2003
	Work is underway involving the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health and other bodies to consider what information and knowledge should be transferred from community health councils to the new system of patient and public involvement and how best to do it.

Cystic Fibrosis

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in making screening services for cystic fibrosis available to all new mothers and pregnant women.

Melanie Johnson: The Government have announced their intention to implement a new national programme for neonatal cystic fibrosis screening. The UK National Screening Committee (NSC) has commissioned a programme of work to plan for the national provision of cystic fibrosis screening using the Guthrie Bloodspot Card. The NSC is looking at screening protocols, costs, feasibility, timetables and links to other antenatal programmes.

Dementia/Alzheimer's

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England have (i) dementia and (ii) Alzheimer's disease.

Stephen Ladyman: There is no routine collection of information at national or local level about the number of people with dementia generally or Alzheimer's disease in particular. Research evidence about the prevalence of dementia suggests that about 5 per cent. of the total population aged 65 or over, rising to 20 per cent. of the population aged 80 and over, has dementia. Alzheimer's disease causes up to 60 per cent. of cases of dementia.

Dementia/Alzheimer's

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support the Government are offering Alzheimer's awareness week.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government are keen supporters of Alzheimer's Awareness Week. It is essential that awareness of the needs of people with dementia, and of their carers, is raised, to help ensure that those needs are met. The Government have produced an older people's national service framework that outlines the high priority we are giving to improving services for people with dementia.

DNA (Insurance)

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards will be introduced on the use of individuals' DNA by (a) the insurance industry, (b) employers, (c) doctors and (d) others, with particular reference to the ownership of newly identified genes.

Melanie Johnson: The recent White Paper, "Our Inheritance, our future—realising the potential of genetics in the NHS", sets out the stringent safeguards that the Government have already introduced on the use and ownership of individuals' DNA. These safeguards include a moratorium to 2006 on the use by insurers of any predicative genetic test results. With regards to further safeguards that will be introduced, the Government have made two commitments. These are:
	To introduce legislation making it an offence to tests a person's DNA without their knowledge or consent, except as part of their medical treatment where consent is impossible to obtain, and use by the police and courts; and
	To consider the evidence for unfair discrimination against people on the basis of their genetic characteristics and the appropriate means of addressing any concerns in this area.

Draft Food Supplements (England) Regulations

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken by the Food Standards Agency of submissions regarding the draft Food Supplements (England) Regulations; and how many submissions were received from consumer groups on these Regulations.

Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) formally consulted on the draft Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 from 23 October 2002 to 15 January 2003. A summary of responses received is on the FSA's website at: www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/ pdfs/draftfoodsapps03.PDF with all comments clearly attributed. Responses from Foodaware and Consumers for Health Choice are included. In amending the draft Regulations, the FSA carefully considered all responses received.

Drug Treatment Regimes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits have been made to France by Department of Health (a) officials and (b) Ministers to look at drug treatment regimes in the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: We are not aware of any visits to France in the last five years by Department of Health Ministers or officials to look specifically at drug treatment regimes.
	However, there is an exchange of information with the rest of Europe, on drugs and drug treatment, via the United Kingdom focal point. The UK focal point is one element of a European network of drugs information centres. The network is co-ordinated by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a specialised agency for the European Union.

Fluoridation

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what areas of the UK receive water supplies which are fluoridated, broken down by (a) water authority and (b) the date fluoridation commenced.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	The information currently available to the Department indicates that water fluoridation schemes are operated by Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent and United Utilities. The schemes were introduced progressively between 1964 and 1985.
	There are no water fluoridation schemes in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Fluoridation

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has collated on the safety of fluoride in the human body.

Melanie Johnson: A review by the University of York found that the evidence showed that fluoridating water helps to reduce tooth decay with no evidence of adverse effects on general health. The report did, however, identify the need for more good quality research and the Department of Health asked the Medical Research Council (MRC) to suggest where it might be possible to strengthen the evidence base.
	In its report, the MRC stated that available evidence does not suggest a link between water fluoridation and either cancer in general or any specific cancer type, including osteosarcoma or primary bone cancer, but recommended monitoring data collected on the incidence of cancer so that any aberrant trends in populations receiving fluoridated water could be investigated.
	Other claims have been made for an association between fluoride ingestion and deficiencies in the immune system, reproductive and developmental (birth) defects, and effects on the kidney and gastrointestinal tract. The MRC considered the evidence for any significant health effects to be weak and did not recommend any specific research, although it recommended keeping research in these areas under review.

Fluoridation

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to each health authority in order to implement the fluoridation of public drinking water.

Melanie Johnson: Individual strategic health authorities would make arrangements with water companies to fluoridate their water, provided their populations were in favour. Costs would be determined by the size of the population covered and the structure of the local water distribution system. Initial conversion costs for a water treatment works might be around £250,000 with running costs, including that of the fluoride, about 40 pence per head of population per year.

Fluoridation

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research he has evaluated on the effectiveness of the use of fluoridation of water in reducing caries;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Medical Research Council on the impact of water fluoridation on human health.

Melanie Johnson: All water supplies contain some fluoride and it was from observing different patterns of dental decay in areas of differing levels of naturally fluoridated water that the benefits of fluoride were first observed. The Government commissioned an up-to-date review of the evidence of the relationship between fluoride and health from the national health service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York. Its report, "A Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation", published in September 2000, concluded that water fluoridation increased the number of children with no tooth decay by 15 per cent. The University of York report did, however, identify the need for more good quality research and the Department commissioned the Medical Research Council (MRC) to advise on how the evidence base might be strengthened. The MRC published its report in September 2002. The Chief Medical Officer and Chief Dental Officer are examining the MRCs research recommendations and will report on the implications for Government policy in the autumn.

Food Contaminants Regulations

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons lettuce and spinach are excluded from the Contaminants in Food (England) Regulations 2003/1478.

Melanie Johnson: Lettuce and spinach are excluded from the English Regulations because of a derogation allowed by European Community law. This derogation allows United Kingdom farmers a transitional period during which to alter their farming practices to reduce the levels of nitrate in spinach and lettuce. The transitional period, which also applies in Ireland, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands, is necessary due to the different climatic conditions that occur in Northern Europe. Cloudy weather during the growing period leads to lettuce and spinach having high nitrate concentrations and on occasion exceeding the maximum permitted levels set by legislation.
	The derogation is conditional on growers abiding by a code of practice and on levels of nitrate measured not representing a risk to public health. Codes of practice for farming of spinach and lettuce were published in 1999. These outline farming practices that, if followed, should reduce the concentrations of nitrate observed in lettuce and spinach. The Food Standards Agency undertakes statutory monitoring of nitrate levels in lettuce and spinach and submits the data to the EC on a yearly basis.

Food Labelling

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on food labelling with respect to caffeine.

Melanie Johnson: The Government are in favour of clear labelling of caffeine when it is used in foods. They therefore supported new European Union rules, which will require caffeine to be declared in ingredient lists when used as a flavouring: current legislation requires only the declaration "flavouring". The new rules will also require drinks containing caffeine in excess of 150 milligrams per litre to carry the declaration, "High caffeine content", together with the amount of caffeine expressed in milligrams per 100 millilitres. This will alert consumers to the presence of unexpectedly high levels of caffeine. The new rules will not apply to drinks based on tea or coffee.

Food Supplements

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which food supplements which are safe will be removed from the market in 2005.

Melanie Johnson: Food supplements, like other foods, are not subject to prior approval before marketing unless they are genetically modified or are "novel". Therefore, the Food Standards Agency does not hold detailed safety information about food supplement products on the UK market. These products are, however, required to comply with food law, including the Food Safety Act 1990.
	According to information provided by industry, Annex I and Annex II of the Food Supplements Directive presently omit six minerals and many chemical sources of vitamins and minerals currently used in food supplements on the UK market. The provisions of The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 come into force on 1 August 2005; however, the regulations take advantage of the derogation in Article 4 of the directive which enables member states to allow, subject to certain criteria being met, the continued sale of products containing vitamin and mineral sources not yet on the permitted lists up until 1 January 2010.

Foundation Hospitals

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the appointment of the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Hospitals. [R]

John Hutton: The advert for the post of Independent Regulator was advertised on 14 May 2003. Candidates were asked to respond by 3 June 2003. The recruitment process is on-going and I expect to announce the appointment later this year. The appointment process is in line with best practice in the public sector and includes independent assessment.

Foundation Hospitals

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation he proposes to make of the first wave of NHS foundation trusts prior to deciding whether (a) to support the creation of more such trusts and (b) to expand foundation trusts beyond the hospital sector. [R]

John Hutton: All national health service trusts will have the opportunity to apply for NHS foundation trust status within the next five years. It has also already been agreed that the NHS foundation trust model will be extended to NHS mental health trusts.
	The experience gained from the first wave NHS foundation trusts will be applied as implementation progresses and in exploring whether this model could be adapted for other NHS organisations.
	The process for establishing NHS foundation trusts will be kept under capital review.

Genetically Modified Food

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned, (b) undertaken itself, (c) reviewed, (d) completed, (e) published or received and (f) ensured the appropriate peer review of in respect of the impact of genetically modified foods consumed by humans upon their health, in the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) funds two extensive research programmes, which underpin the safety assessment of genetically modified foods. This research is undertaken by independent research scientists. The work is peer reviewed before the reports of the research are made publicly available through the FSA's library. Details of the research programme are published in the FSA's research and surveys programmes annual report and are available on the FSA web site at www.food.gov/ukscience/research/researchannualreports/.

Health and Social Care Bill

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will put in place safeguards to ensure that vital equipment is not removed without prior agreement under clause 63(1)(b) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill.

Rosie Winterton: We expect that the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) will normally obtain any information or other material, such as medical equipment, it may need by agreement. The power to remove equipment may be necessary where inspectors suspect, for example, that tampering of either data or equipment has taken place or that patient safety is being put at risk. It is right in such circumstances that CHAI is able to remove such equipment for examination without having to negotiate first for its release.

Health Insurance Cards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the introduction of the common European health insurance card from June 2004.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 June 2003
	As part of the action plan for improving geographical mobility by 2005, the Barcelona European Council agreed to create a European health insurance card. In February 2003 the European Commission published a communication document COM(2003)13, which is available in the Library.
	This card is intended to replace the current paper forms needed to obtain health treatment during temporary stays in another member state of the European Union. The initial stage will replace the emergency health care form E111.
	Existing national cards may be adapted to conform to a European standard or member states which so wish may introduce a completely new card.
	The United Kingdom is generally supportive of the proposal to replace E111 if it simplifies bureaucracy for patients and administrations. Detailed consideration has been given to the practicalities of production of a UK card. It is likely that the UK will wish to take advantage of the transitional period of up to the end of 2005 proposed by the European Commission before card issue to the UK public begins.

Health Insurance Cards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the implications are for (a) British NHS patients and (b) European patients using the NHS of the introduction of the common European health insurance card from June 2004.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 June 2003
	The intention of the card is to simplify procedures, but not to change existing rights and obligations. The European Commission's proposal for a health insurance card is intended primarily for the benefit of citizens. It is hoped to eliminate as many formalities as possible in providing documentation showing entitlement to care in other member states. A European Union wide standard health card should facilitate temporary stays abroad for United Kingdom visitors, both outwards and incoming.

Heathrow

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions in the past 12 months his officials have met those from the Department of Transport to discuss the implications for public health of a third runway at Heathrow.

Melanie Johnson: No meetings to discuss, specifically, the possible impacts on health of a third runway at Heathrow have been held. Discussion between officials is on how the health impacts of any airport development should be handled by the Department for Transport following its present consultation on the future development of air transport. Department of Health officials are involved in an integrated policy appraisal of the proposed expansion.

Heathrow

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of implications for public health of the construction of terminal five at Heathrow, with particular reference to levels of air pollution.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health has made no assessment on the possible impacts on health of construction of a fifth terminal at Heathrow airport. All impacts, including health were fully considered in the planning inquiry, to which local primary care trusts gave evidence.

Hospital Food

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 687W, on hospital food, what methods his Department will use to monitor the effectiveness of phase II of the Better Hospital Food Programme.

Rosie Winterton: Standards of service provision will be monitored through patient environment action team inspections.

Hospital Acquired Infections

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of hospital acquired infections have been reported in the last 12 months for which records are available, broken down by hospital.

Melanie Johnson: National data on hospital infections are limited. This is one reason why we are developing a new national mandatory surveillance system for health care associated infection. This started with reporting of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias), in April 2001. All acute trusts in England now collect this information and results for the first year of this scheme (April 2001 to March 2002) were published by individual trust in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly on 20 June 2002. They are available at www.phls.co.uk/publications/cdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf. Results by individual trust for the second year will be published shortly.
	The Health Protection Agency has a number of voluntary reporting systems for a range of other pathogenic organisms but these do not provide data by trust.

Human Organ Sales

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with other European Union member states on the sale of human organs within the European Union.

Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health, together with the Home Office, is negotiating a draft European Union Framework Decision on the prevention and control of trafficking in human organs and tissues.
	In addition, the Department has been working with the 45 member states of the Council of Europe, which includes the member states of the EU, to develop a recommendation on steps to be taken to minimise the risk of organ trafficking throughout the area.

Insulin Pump Therapy

Mr. Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2003, Official Report, column 431W, on insulin pump therapy, what research he has undertaken into the medical advantages of the provision of insulin pump therapy for type I diabetics;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2003, Official Report, column 431W, on insulin pump therapy, if he will make insulin pumps and infusion kits free of charge for diabetics who require them for medical reasons;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2003, Official Report, column 431W, on insulin pump therapy, if he will list the health authorities which provide insulin pump therapy at no cost;
	(4)  if he will compile statistics on (a) the numbers of type I diabetics who require insulin pump therapy and (b) the costs of providing this service free of charge.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance on current best practice in clinical care is provided by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE issued its guidance, which takes account of all existing research, on insulin pump therapy in February 2003. Insulin pump therapy is recommended as one option for people with type 1 diabetes, provided that multiple dose insulin therapy, including insulin glargine, has failed and those receiving the treatment are willing and able to use the therapy effectively. Once NICE guidance is published, health professionals are expected to take it fully into account when exercising their clinical judgement. As national health service staff are trained, by February 2004, new users—where clinically indicated—will receive insulin pumps from the NHS. Information on those health authorities that currently provide insulin pump therapy at no cost is not collected centrally.

London Mayor

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times he and his predecessors met the Mayor of London in official meetings at the Department in each of the past three years.

Rosie Winterton: The then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Darlington (Mr Milburn), had a meeting with the Mayor of London on 20 September 2001.

Maternity Services

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on prescribing by midwives.

John Hutton: Registered midwives are able to train to prescribe from the nurse practitioners' extended formulary.
	There are also provisions under medicines legislation which allow registered midwives to sell or supply and to administer a range of medicines in the course of their professional practice.

Mental Health

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to develop mental health treatment and support services for vulnerable groups, with particular reference to (a) women, (b) children and (c) members of minority ethnic communities; and if he will make a statement on the funding and nature of schemes (i) in operation and (ii) being developed.

Rosie Winterton: Development of mental health services, as set out in the national service framework for mental health (MHNSF) and the NHS Plan is aimed at improving services for everyone including vulnerable groups.
	In addition, guidance is being developed for services on meeting the particular needs of women and black and minority ethnic groups. This will support the MHNSF and NHS Plan implementation and services obligations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.
	The NHS Plan provided over £300 million investment by 2003–04 to support implementation of the targets and standards set. Commissioners and services locally are developing a number of schemes and initiatives to ensure that within this the needs of vulnerable groups, such as women and people from black and minority ethnic groups, are met. The Department does not keep records centrally on these initiatives.
	The National Institute for Mental Health in England has been established to support services in implementing the MHNSF, NHS Plan priorities and guidance for women and black and minority ethnic groups through its equalities and black and minority ethnic mental health programmes.
	The Government's strategy for the development of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), initiated in 1999–2000, is ongoing with the aim of improving the overall quality and accessibility of local services for children and young people with mental health problems. In the four years ending 31 March 2003, we invested £105 million in CAMHS developments across the national health service and local authorities, which resulted in significant increases in staffing, new or expanded services and better joint working between the main providing agencies.
	Our objectives for the further development of CAMHS, set out in the Department's Priorities and Planning Framework 2003–06 "Improvement, Expansion and Reform", include year-on-year increases of at least 10 per cent. across the service, according to agreed local priorities, leading to a comprehensive service in all areas by 2006. These developments will be underpinned by additional central investment of some £250 million over the three years and by guidance contained in the new children's national service framework (NSF). The recently published Emerging Findings from the NSF include a chapter on the mental health and psychological well-being of children and the content of a comprehensive CAMHS.

Mixed-sex Wards

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mixed-sex wards in NHS hospitals there were in each of the last three years; what plans he has to eliminate mixed-sex wards; and what timetable he has established to achieve this goal.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 24WS.
	Information on the number of mixed-sex wards is not available.

Mixed-sex Wards

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from women about mixed-sex wards.

John Hutton: Since the beginning of January the Department of Health has received 18 written representations mentioning mixed-sex wards, including three parliamentary questions from right hon. and hon. Members. 12 of these have been from women.

Mobile Phone Masts

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to set up further studies into the health effects of mobile telephone masts;
	(2)  what programme of research he has commissioned into the effects upon health of mobile telephone masts; and what budgetary provision he has made for such research.

Melanie Johnson: The public health implications of mobile phone technologies in general were comprehensively assessed by the independent expert group on mobile phones (IEGMP) in May 2000—www.iegmp.orq.uk. In respect of base stations, the IEGMP concluded that:
	"The balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines."
	Measurements undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board and the Radiocommunications Agency have confirmed that public exposures are very much lower than the international guidelines and are published on the web sites www.nrpb.org and www.radio.gov.uk respectively.
	The LINK Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme was established under an independent programme management committee (PMC), following the publication of the IEGMP report. The programme has a research budget of £7.36 million and is jointly funded by Government and industry.
	MTHR research studies already under way are mainly concerned with the use of mobile phone handsets. In response to more recent public concerns about possible health risks from exposure to emissions from base stations, the PMC has commissioned researchers at Imperial College to undertake an epidemiological study investigating the incidence of childhood leukaemias and other cancers around base stations. Applications for further research into the effects of radiofrequency emissions from mobile phone base stations are currently being considered. Further information about this study and the programme as a whole can be found on the MTHR web site at www.mthr.orq.uk.

Multiple Sclerosis

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of multiple sclerosis patients receive the drugs that they request in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: We do not hold the information requested. However, the risk-sharing scheme is making disease-modifying drugs more widely available. Consultant neurologists, in consultation with patients, have a choice of treatments within the scheme taking into account expected benefit and potential side effects. The products included in the scheme are Avonex, Betaferon, Copaxone and Rebif.

Multiple Sclerosis

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of hydrotherapy treatment for MS sufferers; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Hydrotherapy is a form of physiotherapy conducted in a heated pool. Supervised by state-registered physiotherapists with specific training in hydrotherapy, patients undertake specifically designed exercises that can help to strengthen muscles, mobilise joints, relieve pain and promote relaxation.
	We do not hold information centrally on the availability of these therapies. It is the role of strategic health authorities, in partnership with primary care trusts, to decide what services to provide for their populations, including those with multiple sclerosis. They are best placed to understand local health needs and commission services to meet them.

Mutuality

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what models of mutuality in health the Government are investigating; and what expertise he has sought from abroad with regard to this mode of delivery.

John Hutton: We have established an external reference group to provide advice on how national health service foundation trusts might learn from the experience of mutual and co-operative sectors. The membership covers a range of organisations from the not-for-profit sector. We have also explored the experience in other countries such as Spain, Denmark and Sweden relevant to the development of NHS foundation trusts.

Nanoparticles in Drugs

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has made an assessment of the need to regulate the toxicity of nanoparticles used in drugs.

Melanie Johnson: The Department considers that the toxicity of nanoparticles used in drugs is already adequately regulated and assessed during the marketing authorisation assessment process of the individual products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), on behalf of the Licensing Authority, grants marketing authorisations for medicinal products, provided that satisfactory quality, safety and efficacy data have been submitted for the medicinal product for use in the proposed indication and that the risk benefit is deemed favourable. Part of the assessment process involves ensuring that the toxicity of the final drug product has been adequately investigated and tested in the clinical trials submitted in support of the application. Appropriate trials will need to be conducted with the particle size of the drug in the final product that is intended for marketing. The drug manufacturer will also have to satisfy the MHRA that it can consistently produce the product from batch to batch, including particle size.

Neurological Nurses

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist neurological nurses there were in each NHS region for (a) TIA, (b) epilepsy, (c) multiple sclerosis, (d) movement disorder, (e) head injury, (f) Parkinson's and (g) Alzheimer's in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally. The non-medical workforce census collects information annually on the number of nurses employed in the national health service as at 30 September each year, but can not distinguish those who are specialist neurological nurses.

Neurologists

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle the shortage of qualified neurologists; and what targets he has set to reduce waiting times in neurology.

John Hutton: holding answer 26 June 2003
	There have been significant increases in neurologist numbers in recent years and there are more planned. The overall expansion in consultant numbers set out in the NHS Plan should have positive implications for neurology recruitment.
	As at 31 March 2002, there were 372 consultants in neurology, which means that since September 1997, numbers increased by 34 per cent. We are working towards increasing these numbers further.
	The long-term conditions care group workforce team covers the national service frameworks (NSFs) for diabetes, renal and long-term conditions, including neurological conditions. It brings together, in relevant workforce groups, key stakeholders, including patients, to lead on strategies for building a flexible workforce to deliver the NSFs. It is the first time that workforce planning has been carried out in this manner. This approach will support the development of the workforce and enable the national health service to grow the right number of workers, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time. Membership of the long-term conditions workforce group includes representatives of the Neurological Alliance and the North West Clinical Neuroscience Partnership.
	Targets were set to reduce out-patients waits to 21 weeks by April 2003 and there are further targets to reduce waits to 16 weeks by 1 April 2004. People with neurological conditions stand to benefit from these reductions in waiting times.

NHS Recruitment

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by the NHS on advertising employment opportunities in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The last time that national information on national health service recruitment advertising costs was collected was in 1998, when expenditure was estimated to be £30 million. However, this is likely to have risen over the last five years in line with the major expansion of staff numbers in the NHS.
	The Department of Health is currently commissioning a national electronic recruitment service for the NHS. It will link with NHS Careers to provide a web-based service advertising posts, providing information about careers, jobs and NHS employers, and an electronic application process, supported by a call centre service to provide flexible, interactive access to information and job and training opportunities. The new service will enable the NHS to reduce its recruitment and advertising costs.

NHS Recruitment

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of applications per job advertisement in the NHS was in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The Department of Health does not hold this information centrally, although it may be available from individual national health service employing organisations.

NHS Services (Gloucestershire)

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of (a) temporary nurses and (b) locum doctors in the NHS in Gloucestershire.

Stephen Ladyman: A range of initiatives is under way to get better value for temporary staff in the national health service. Along with the roll-out of NHS Professionals, the aim is to reduce agency costs and to improve the quality of staff through agency framework agreements. Agency framework agreements fix the cost of agency staff, which can only increase in line with the recommendations of the pay review body.
	NHS trusts are using the National Medical Locum Agency contract, with the contract value in the first quarter being £15 million. This is expected to show an average saving of 6 per cent. per trust on medical locum expenditure per annum.
	The aim is to roll-out agency agreements and NHS Professionals to cover all aspects of the temporary healthcare labour market. This means covering not just nurses and doctors, but also the allied health professions and other healthcare professionals.
	Medical locums are already covered by a national agency framework agreement, and a NHS Professionals service for doctors is being developed.
	By ensuring that all temporary staffing demand is handled through NHS Professionals, the savings and outcomes from the agency project will be maximised. The new NHS Professionals special health authority will enable better strategic management of the healthcare temporary staffing labour market and ensure that all NHS trusts are using NHS Professionals by April 2005.
	Avon Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority has advised that trusts in Gloucestershire are working towards using NHS Professionals by the target date of April 2005 and are using, or working towards using, the National Medical Locum Agency contract.

NHS Staff

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of nurses employed by the NHS who are from the black and ethnic minority community; and if he will list the percentage for each nursing grade.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	As at September 2001, an estimated 8.9 per cent. of the qualified nursing workforce whose ethnicity is recorded were from a black or ethnic minority background.
	
		NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff by Ethnic group(excluding agency and learners) -- England as at September 2001Percentage
		
			  
			   Old Ethnic Codes New Ethnic Codes 
			  All groups White Black Asian Other White Mixed Asian or Asian British Black or Black British Other Total ethnic minority groups 
		
		
			 All nursing, midwifery and 100.0 51.9 1.8 0.7 1.3 39.9 0.5 1.3 1.8 0.8 8.2 
			 Qualified staff 100.0 53.2 2.0 0.8 1.5 37.9 0.4 1.4 1.8 1.0 8.9 
			 Nurse Consultant 100.0 44.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 53.8 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6 
			 Nurse manager 100.0 52.7 1.3 0.3 0.5 42.7 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.7 4.7 
			 Registered sick children's nurse 100.0 56.9 2.0 0.7 0.9 36.6 0.4 0.6 1.3 0.6 6.5 
			 Registered midwife 100.0 58.1 2.7 0.8 0.7 33.1 0.7 0.6 2.6 0.7 8.8 
			 Health vistor 100.0 54.7 2.3 1.0 0.8 38.6 0.2 0.6 1.4 0.5 6.7 
			 District nurse 100.0 54.2 0.9 0.7 0.6 41.7 0.2 0.4 1.1 0.4 4.1 
			 Other first level registration 100.0 52.4 1.9 0.8 1.7 38.3 0.4 1.5 1.8 1.1 9.3 
			 Other second level registration 100.0 54.3 2.4 1.0 1.7 33.7 0.6 2.9 2.5 1.0 12.0 
			 Unqualified staff 100.0 48.4 1.4 0.5 0.6 45.7 0.5 0.7 1.7 0.4 5.9 
		
	
	Notes:Figures should be treated with caution as they are based upon the 68 of HCHS organisations that reported valid ethnic codes for 90 or more of non-medical staff, and further exclude staff whose ethnicity is not recorded. Percentages were calculated from numbers of staff expressed as headcount. Sum of parts may not equal totals due to rounding.Source:
	Department of Health 2001 non-medical workforce census.

NHS Treatment (Age of Consent)

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the age of consent is for agreeing to NHS treatment.

Rosie Winterton: People aged 16 or 17 are entitled to consent to their own medical treatment and any ancillary procedures involved in that treatment, such as an anaesthetic. As for adults, consent will be valid only if it is given voluntarily by an appropriately informed patient capable of consenting to the particular intervention.
	For children under 16, following the case of Gillick, the courts have held that children who have sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable them to understand fully what is involved in a proposed intervention will also have the capacity to consent to that intervention.
	Detailed guidance on the law on consent in England was set out in the Department's "Reference Guide to Consent for Examination and Treatment", published in March 2001. The Department has also made available information leaflets for health professionals and for patients on consent in relation to children and young people. These and other related documents are available on the Departments' website at www.doh.gov.uk/consent.

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer the questions from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham, ref 116459 tabled on 22 May, refs (a) 114052, (b) 114085, (c) 114056, (d) 114033, (e) 114001, (f) 114048, (g) 114060, (h) 114003, (i) 114019, (j) 114002, (k) 114050, (l) 114065, (m) 114164, (n) 114084, (o) 114012, (p) 114062, (q) 114054, (r) 114058, (s) 114002, (t) 114049, (u) 114063, (v) 114163, (w) 114055, (x) 114059, (y) 114051, (z) 110461, (aa) 114053, (bb) 114090, (cc) 114057, (dd) 114061, (ee) 114053, (ff) 114090, (gg) 114057 tabled on 13 May, and refs (i) 116467 and (ii) 116468 tabled on 3 June.

John Hutton: The table shows the dates on which the hon. Member's questions were answered.
	
		
			 UIN Date reply sent Official Report, column 
		
		
			 114001 30 June 149–53W 
			 114002 30 June 149–53W 
			 114003 30 June 149–53W 
			 114012 30 June 149–53W 
			 114019 30 June 149–53W 
			 114033 30 June 149–53W 
			 114048 30 June 149–53W 
			 114049 30 June 149–53W 
			 114050 30 June 153W 
			 114051 30 June 153W 
			 114052 30 June 153W 
			 114053 30 June 153W 
			 114054 30 June 153W 
			 114055 30 June 154W 
			 114056 30 June 154W 
			 114057 30 June 154W 
			 114058 30 June 154W 
			 114059 30 June 155W 
			 114060 30 June 155W 
			 114061 30 June 155W 
			 114062 30 June 155W 
			 114063 30 June 155W 
			 114065 30 June 149–53W 
			 114084 30 June 149–53W 
			 114085 30 June 149–53W 
			 114090 30 June 149–53W 
			 114163 30 June 156W 
			 114164 30 June 156W 
			 116459 30 June 149W 
			 116467 3 July — 
			 116468 3 July —

Paroxetine

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have (a) self-harmed and (b) committed suicide whilst taking prescribed paroxetine in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) receive reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) submitted by doctors, dentists, pharmacists and coroners via the Yellow Card Scheme by doctors and there is a legal requirement for companies to report suspected ADRs to their drugs.
	The number of reports received via the Yellow Card Scheme does not directly equate to the number of people who suffer adverse reactions to drugs for a number of reasons including an unknown level of under reporting. It is important to note that the reporting of a reaction does not necessarily mean it was caused by the drug and may relate to other factors such as the patient's underlying illness or other medicines taken concurrently.
	A total of 196 reports of 'suspected' ADRs have been received through this scheme in association with paroxetine in children aged 18 years or under, including three reports of deliberate self-harm, all occurring in 1999 and two reports of suicide (accomplished)—one each occurring in 2002 and 2003.

Physical Activity

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to develop partnerships with sports bodies at (a) national and (b) local level to promote physical activity.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health recognises the important contribution sport and leisure activities can make to a healthy, active lifestyle. Therefore we are already working in partnership with a range of sports bodies at both a national and local level.
	The Department of Health and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport are jointly leading the Sport and Physical Activity Board (SPAB), which will meet for the first time in July 2003. Sports organisations, such as national governing bodies of sport, will be encouraged to contribute to the work of SPAB, whose aim will be to increase participation through a co-ordinated, strategic approach to the planning and delivery of sport and physical activity at a national and regional level.
	The Department of Health is hosting a two-year physical activity secondment post from Sport England. The aim of this post is to develop stronger links between sport and health.
	Nine Regional Sports Boards (RSBs) established by Sport England provide the mechanism for sport and health to link more effectively. Their membership includes a range of health professionals, including the Regional Director for Public Health.
	The Department is working in partnership with Sport England and the Countryside Agency to fund the local exercise action pilots (LEAP) programme. The three-year programme will test out a range of community approaches to increasing access to and levels of physical activity in nine primary care trust (PCT) led pilots across England. Sports development and leisure services are contributing to the pilots through their local strategic partnerships. Two of the pilots are based in sport action zones and the majority of the PCTs are working closely with sports bodies to deliver health-related outcomes.
	In the context of the national service framework for coronary heart disease, PCTs and individual general practitioner practices are working with sport and leisure services to implement local policies for promoting physical activity, for example, through the delivery of exercise referral schemes, free swimming initiatives and weight management programmes.

Physical Disability

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most common cause of physical disability is in (a) England, (b) South Sefton, (c) Southport and (d) Formby.

Stephen Ladyman: The most common cause of physical disability in England is diseases of the musculoskeletal system, particularly arthritis and rheumatism. Such information is not available for South Sefton, Southport and Formby, but there is no evidence to suggest that they vary from England as a whole.

Prisons

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing the prison health development network between primary care trusts and prisons.

Stephen Ladyman: 1 July 2003 marked the launch of the Prison Health Development Network with an event in London attended by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Department (Mr. Goggins) and Sir Nigel Crisp, National Health Service Chief Executive and Department of Health Permanent Secretary.
	The launch event follows the Home Office announcement on 25 September 2002 that funding responsibility for health care within the Prison Service would become part of the NHS. The front line commissioning responsibility for individual prisons will have transferred to their local primary care trust (PCT) by 1 April 2006.
	The aim of the Prison Health Development Network is to support prisons and PCTs and develop their partnership roles. The network will provide invaluable lessons as the gradual transfer of responsibility takes place.
	Work on the network has been divided into two separate phases:
	Firstly, a diagnostic stage that will involve the PCTs and prisons identifying the potential problem areas for their organisations and highlighting areas of interest that they will be involved in;
	The second phase, which will start in September, will focus on helping PCTs and prisons develop practical solutions to the issues identified and share the experience and good practice with others. It is expected that those prisons and PCTs in the network that have made sufficient progress and are ready will 'go live' from April 2004.

Private Health Care

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent undertakings have been given to the Government of South Africa about the recruitment of health staff; how many South African health care companies have been asked to tender for private contracts for the provision of care to NHS patients; and what restrictions the British Government intend to impose on the South African staff working for such companies.

John Hutton: A code of practice for national health service employers recruiting from overseas was published in 2001 and sets out standards for international recruitment, including the need to protect the needs of developing countries such as South Africa and to only work with those countries which have formal agreements in place with the Department of Health to recruit healthcare professionals.
	The Department's agreement with the South African Health Ministry on the recruitment of overseas clinical teams is on the basis that only private sector providers will be considered. The agreement is on the assumption that clinicians come to the United Kingdom for a maximum of six weeks per year on a rotational basis; this is designed to aid to the long-term retention of staff in the South African healthcare system.
	A total of 14 South African companies have been asked to tender for contracts to provide overseas clinical teams in the UK. Contracts have been awarded to South African companies at Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals NHS Trust.
	In addition, two South African healthcare companies are included in the list of qualifying bidders preparing tenders for independent sector diagnosis and treatment centres contracts and we have assurances from both companies that, if selected, they will abide by the NHS code of practice for international recruitment.

Public-Private Initiative

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the budget for the PPI system will be announced.

Rosie Winterton: Information about the three year allocation from the spending review for the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health was put on the Department of Health's website in December at www.doh.gov.uk/allocations. A copy of the information, which is contained in the 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 primary care trust Revenue Resource Limits Exposition Book, is available in the Library.
	Much of the work to support and deliver patient and public involvement is undertaken and funded locally, for example, patient advice and liaison services, the requirement on the national health service to involve and consult the public and scrutiny of health by local authorities.

Smoking

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on under-age smoking.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health commissions annual surveys on smoking among secondary school children. The 1998 White Paper, "Smoking Kills", set a target to reduce smoking among 11 to 15-year-olds from 13 per cent. in 1996 to 9 per cent. by 2010, with a fall to 11 per cent. by 2005. Progress towards this target is monitored by a series of surveys of schoolchildren carried out on behalf of the Department of Health, originally by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and since 2000 by the National Centre for Social Research and National Foundation for Educational Research.
	Data on the prevalence of regular smoking from these reports are shown in the table. Smoking prevalence has remained unchanged since 2000 at ten per cent. and we are on course to meet our target for reducing smoking among this age group.
	
		Prevalence of regular cigarette smoking among secondary school pupils aged 11 to 15, by gender—England, 1996 to 2002 -- Percentage
		
			  Boys Girls All pupils 
		
		
			 1996 11 15 13 
			 1998 9 12 11 
			 1999 8 10 9 
			 2000 9 12 10 
			 2001 8 11 10 
			 2002 9 11 10 
		
	
	Note:
	Regular smokers are those who smoke at least one cigarette a week, on averageSource:
	The Department of Health Statistical Press Notice, "Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2002: Provisional Results"—http://www.doh.gov.uk/public/spnmar03-smoking.htm

Social Services (Older People)

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has set a date for the payment of grant to local authorities for improving social services for older people, as set out in his letter of 22 May to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Subject to parliamentary approval, the delayed discharges grant will be paid in one instalment to local authorities before 31 July 2003.

St George's Hospital, Tooting

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on St. George's Hospital, Tooting of being granted foundation status.

John Hutton: In line with the principle of earned autonomy, for the first wave of national health service foundation trusts, only acute and specialist NHS trusts, which have attained three stars in the NHS Performance Ratings, were eligible to apply.
	St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust has two stars which means that it is therefore not eligible to apply for NHS foundation trust status at present. However, with mechanisms, including the recently announced improvement programme, in place to raise the performance of all NHS trusts, it is expected that all NHS trusts will have the opportunity to apply for NHS Foundation trust status within the next five years.

Working Time Directive

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) the impact on junior hospital doctors in North Yorkshire of the Working Time Directive, (b) the impact on local hospitals of the implementation of the Working Time Directive and (c) the change in the number of junior doctors the NHS will require in North Yorkshire.

Melanie Johnson: Working Times Directive (WTD) implementation is only part of the much wider issue of delivering better care for patients and improving the working lives of national health service staff. Its impact cannot be assessed in isolation from other factors. It will require both more staff and staff working differently.
	Information about plans to implement the WTD across North Yorkshire is not collated. The resources needed to meet WTD targets are included in the local delivery plans agreed between NHS trusts and strategic health authorities.
	In addition, £46 million has been allocated to the NHS over the next three financial years to support compliance.
	From September 1997 to March 2002, there has been an increase of over 5,000 junior doctors and career grade doctors working in the NHS. This increase in the number of doctors, together with changes to working practices, will help both meet the WTD targets and deliver targets set out in the NHS Plan.